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Scientists have found the cause of stellar fireworks in the early universe.
Ancient galaxies, which were imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), showed unusually bright luminosities. Scientists now understand the reason for this phenomenon.
The researchers concluded that galaxies located in the early universe may have experienced periods of intense star formation. This probably made them brighter than expected at that point in time. A similar conclusion was made on the basis of computer simulations of the formation process of these galaxies and the beginning of star formation.
When JWST began scientific observations in the summer of 2022, its observations revealed high-redshift galaxies that existed in the early stages of the universe's development. These galaxies were brighter than predicted by the standard model of cosmology. "The discovery of these galaxies was a big surprise, because their brightness was much higher than expected," said Claude - Andre Foch-Giguere of Northwestern University.
The team of scientists, which includes Fochet-Giguere and led by Gouchao Sun of Caltech, concluded that the galaxies recorded by JWST were bright due to the intense process of star formation. Sun added: "If star formation occurs in bursts, it leads to flashes of light. That's why we see some very bright galaxies."
In the early universe, galaxies were much smaller than they are today, and grew by joining intergalactic clouds of gas and merging with other galaxies. It is important to note that the results of the new simulations correspond to the standard model of cosmology. "Our models show that galaxies could easily have formed with such brightness at the dawn of the universe," concluded Fochet - Giguere.
The results of the study were published on October 3 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Ancient galaxies, which were imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), showed unusually bright luminosities. Scientists now understand the reason for this phenomenon.
The researchers concluded that galaxies located in the early universe may have experienced periods of intense star formation. This probably made them brighter than expected at that point in time. A similar conclusion was made on the basis of computer simulations of the formation process of these galaxies and the beginning of star formation.
When JWST began scientific observations in the summer of 2022, its observations revealed high-redshift galaxies that existed in the early stages of the universe's development. These galaxies were brighter than predicted by the standard model of cosmology. "The discovery of these galaxies was a big surprise, because their brightness was much higher than expected," said Claude - Andre Foch-Giguere of Northwestern University.
The team of scientists, which includes Fochet-Giguere and led by Gouchao Sun of Caltech, concluded that the galaxies recorded by JWST were bright due to the intense process of star formation. Sun added: "If star formation occurs in bursts, it leads to flashes of light. That's why we see some very bright galaxies."
In the early universe, galaxies were much smaller than they are today, and grew by joining intergalactic clouds of gas and merging with other galaxies. It is important to note that the results of the new simulations correspond to the standard model of cosmology. "Our models show that galaxies could easily have formed with such brightness at the dawn of the universe," concluded Fochet - Giguere.
The results of the study were published on October 3 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
