Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have determined that within the first billion years after the Big Bang, three supermassive galaxies with a mass roughly the same as our own Milky Way already existed. I discovered that there is. The discovery, part of the JWST/FRESCO survey, shows that stars in the early universe grew much more rapidly than previously thought, casting doubt on existing models of galaxy formation.
Three red monster galaxies discovered by Webb. Image credits: NASA / CSA / ESA / M. Xiao & PA Oesch, University of Geneva / G. Brammer, Niels Bohr Institute / Dawn JWST Archive.
Until now, it was thought that all galaxies formed gradually within large halos of dark matter.
Dark matter halos trap gas (atoms and molecules) in gravitationally bound structures.
Typically, up to 20% of this gas is converted into stars within a galaxy.
But new discoveries cast doubt on this view, revealing that giant galaxies in the early universe may have grown much more rapidly and efficiently than previously thought.
“The problem of ‘impossible’ giant galaxies in the aftermath of the Big Bang has puzzled astronomers since the first images of the web,” said Dr Ivo Rabe, an astronomer at Swinburne University of Technology.
“This is like finding a 100 kg infant. Webb has proven that monsters roam the early universe.”
While most of the sources found in the FRESCO survey fit existing models, astronomers also discovered three surprisingly massive galaxies with stellar masses comparable to today’s Milky Way galaxy. .
They are named “red monsters” because of their high dust content and their distinctive red color in web images.
These form stars nearly twice as efficiently as their subsequent lower-mass counterparts and galaxies.
“These findings raise new questions about galaxy formation theory, especially the problem of ‘too many, too big’ galaxies in the early Universe,” said Dr. Rabe.
“Current models cannot explain why star formation occurs so efficiently so early in the universe.”
“The general assumption is that an exploding star or a supermassive black hole kills star formation and blows out the candle.”
“I have no doubt that future observations of the web will provide clues about what we are missing.”
Professor Stein Weitz, an astronomer at the University of Bath, said: “Finding three such gigantic beasts among the specimens poses an interesting puzzle.”
“Many processes of galactic evolution tend to introduce rate-limiting steps in how efficiently gas turns into stars, but somehow this red monster quickly bypassed most of these hurdles. It seems there is.”
“These results show that galaxies in the early Universe may form stars with unexpected efficiency,” said Dr. Mengyuan Xiao, an astronomer at the University of Geneva.
“Studying these galaxies in more detail will provide new insights into the conditions that shaped the early days of the universe.”
“The Red Monster is just the beginning of a new era in the exploration of the early universe.”
“That’s the great thing about astronomy: we’re always surprised by new discoveries,” Professor Weitz said.
“Already in the first few years, Webb has thrown us some curveballs.”
“In multiple ways, we show that some galaxies mature rapidly during the first chapters of the universe’s history.”
a paper Survey results are published in a magazine nature.
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M. Xiao others. The formation of supermassive galaxies accelerates during the first billion years. naturepublished online on November 13, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08094-5
Source: www.sci.news
