Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to make exciting discoveries about the early universe.
Telescopes observed galaxies forming stars in unexpected patterns. 700 million years after that big bang. galaxies show evidence of Inside-out growtha phenomenon in which stars form more actively. suburbs Rather than the center, it challenges our current understanding of how galaxies grow. This discovery is JWST Advanced Extragalactic Exploration Survey (JADES)which aims to investigate galaxies from the earliest epochs of the universe.
Inside-out star formation confirmed in early galaxies
The galaxies studied are much smaller than galaxies. milky wayI found that it has grown since then. inside out. This means that star formation While the outer regions are accelerating, a dense collection of old stars has already formed in the core. Although this galaxy is only a fraction of the size of our own galaxy, it appears surprisingly mature for its age. Sandro Taccheraco-author of the study. cambridge universityexplained, “Galaxies are expected to start small as gas clouds collapse under their own gravity and form dense cores of stars.” He described this early stage of the galaxy’s life as spinning figure skaterthe momentum increases as it is drawn in gas from further away.
This process has been theorized before, but has only been confirmed in practice. james webb space telescope. Previous observations lacked the sensitivity to detect these subtle patterns early in the universe’s history. william bakerAnother study co-author emphasized how innovative JWST is, saying, “It’s like checking your homework.” For the first time, astronomers can now compare their astronomy. theoretical model Using real data from around the world 13 billion years before.
Mechanism of galaxy growth in the early universe
The researchers used Stellar population modeling study emitted light by galaxies of different wavelengths. By considering the balance of young star and old starthey were able to estimate both stellar mass and star formation rate. The most shocking thing is that the galaxy has high density corewhere most of the star formation is occurring in the suburbsa galaxy doubles its stellar mass almost every year. 10 million years. In contrast, the Milky Way doubles its mass over a much longer period of time. 10 billion years.
Astronomers believe that this rapid star formation in the outer regions suggests that the galaxy is being influenced in some way. abundant gas supplycan continue to expand. “The density of the core and the rate of star formation indicate that this galaxy thrives on gas,” Tatchera said. This finding suggests a different possibility Condition of the early universe That is what has made such rapid development possible.
Another surprising aspect of the study was the comparison of this early galaxy to massive galaxies. elliptical galaxy The ones we see today are 1000 times heavier, but have similar core densities. These findings suggest that Mechanism of star formation It might have been different then early universeor perhaps galaxies undergo major changes over billions of years.
Galaxy evolution and implications for future research
The discovery of this Inside-out growth This pattern is galaxy evolution. Tacchella and his team are now analyzing data from other early galaxies to determine whether this pattern is universal or unique to this particular galaxy. “Are all galaxies like this? Or is this just one special case?” Tatchera asked. By studying other galaxies over different time periods, history of the universeAstronomers want to reconstruct the entire life cycle of galaxies, from their formation to their current state.
How did this research james webb space telescope It is revolutionizing our understanding of the universe. By peering into the distant past, JWST is providing astronomers with the data they need to investigate how galaxies like them. milky way They grew into the gigantic structures we observe today. ability to observe galaxies billions of years ago open up a new path for research on star formation, galactic nucleus,and Adhesion of gas That promotes star formation.
Tatchella emphasized that these discoveries have far-reaching implications, saying, “JWST will allow us to explore the first billion years of the universe’s history, and will help us understand how galaxies evolve. “It opens up all sorts of new questions about the future.” The researchers’ next step will be to determine whether these early galaxies share anything in common. growth patternhas the potential to reshape our understanding of galaxy evolution.
