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The galaxy ZF-UDS-7329 is unexpectedly large. © Swinburne University of Technology
A galaxy more massive than the Milky Way and formed without dark matter – the discovery calls into question the current theory of galaxy formation.
Melbourne – A groundbreaking discovery has been made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): a galaxy in the early universe that is so massive that its existence seems impossible. The galaxy ZF-UDS-7329, which contains more stars than the Milky Way, was formed 800 million years after the Big Bang. This suggests that it must have formed without dark matter, which contradicts the standard model of galaxy formation.
Karl Glazebrook, the study’s leader from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, recalls: “We tracked this particular galaxy for seven years, observing for hours with Earth’s two largest telescopes to find out how old it is.” But the galaxy was too red and too faint to be measured. “In the end, we had to leave Earth and use the JWST to confirm its nature.” The results of the study were in the specialist journal Nature published.
“Reaching the limits of our current understanding”
Dr. Themiya Nanayakkara, who led the spectral analysis of the JWST data, emphasizes the significance of this discovery: “We are now going beyond what was possible to confirm the oldest massive dormant monsters that exist deep in the universe.” He adds: “This pushes us to the limits of our current understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. The key question now is how these galaxies formed so quickly very early in the universe, and what mysterious mechanisms caused them to abruptly stop forming stars while the rest of the universe did.”
The newly discovered galaxy challenges the previous theory of galaxy formation. Claudia Lagos, co-author of the study, explains: “The formation of galaxies is largely determined by how dark matter is concentrated.” She adds: “The fact that these extremely massive galaxies appear so early in the universe poses significant challenges to our standard model of cosmology.”
How did the massive galaxy form without dark matter?
The research suggests that the dark matter normally needed to form such massive galaxies has not yet had enough time to form. Therefore, Lagos emphasizes in one notice: “More observations are needed to understand how common these galaxies might be and to help us understand how massive these galaxies really are.”
Glazebrook is pleased with the results: “JWST has found more and more evidence for the formation of massive galaxies in early times. This result represents a new record for this phenomenon.” However, he also emphasizes: “Although it is very striking, it is only one object. But we hope to find more; and if we do that, it will really upend our ideas about galaxy formation.”
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2024-03-02 22:55:13
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