Astronomers have discovered an unexpectedly hot cluster of galaxies in the early Universe that challenges theories of galactic evolution.
The burning cluster existed just 1.4 billion years after Big bangflaring up much earlier and hotter than current models of the formation of galaxy clusters predict. The finding suggests that predicted patterns of cluster growth may need to be rethought, the researchers reported Jan. 5 in the journal. Nature.
“Understanding galaxy clusters is key to understanding the largest galaxies in the Universe,” study co-author. Scott ChapmanThis was stated by an astrophysicist from Dalhousie University, who conducted research at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). statement. “These massive galaxies are primarily located in clusters, and their evolution is largely determined by the very robust environment of the clusters during their formation, including the intracluster environment.”
In the new study, researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a powerful radio telescope located in Chile, to observe a bright young galaxy cluster known as SPT2349-56, which emitted light just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. This cluster is relatively small – about the size of Milky Wayouter halo, but it contains more than 30 active galaxies and three supermassive black holes and forms stars more than 5,000 times faster than the Milky Way.
Using a phenomenon called the Sunyaev-Zeldovich thermal effect, the team found that the gas in the intracluster environment is at least five times hotter than current theories of cluster formation predict for its relatively young age.
“We did not expect to see such a hot cluster atmosphere so early in cosmic history,” study co-author. Dazhi Zhou– said a statement from a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. “I was actually skeptical about the signal at first because it was too strong to be real.”
But it was real – and it may mean that galaxy clusters may be forming faster than expected.
“This tells us that something in the early Universe, likely the three recently discovered supermassive black holes in the cluster, was already pumping enormous amounts of energy into the surrounding environment and forming the young cluster much earlier and stronger than we thought,” Chapman said.
In future studies, the team plans to explore what significance this unusual cluster may have for the formation and evolution of existing galaxy clusters.
“We want to figure out how intense star formation, active black holes and this superheated atmosphere interact, and what that tells us about how current galaxy clusters were built,” Zhou said. “How can all this happen simultaneously in such a young and compact system?”
