The six galaxies’ ages and masses are initial estimates and will need follow-up confirmation with spectroscopy, a method that splits the light into a spectrum and analyzes the brightness of different colors. If there are other, faster ways to form galaxies than the current model allows, or if more matter actually was available for forming stars and galaxies in the early universe than was previously understood, astronomers would need to shift their prevailing thinking. If the masses and time since the Big Bang are confirmed for these galaxies, fundamental changes to the reigning model of cosmology - what’s called the dark energy plus cold dark matter paradigm - could be needed. Credit: Mike Boylan-Kolchin.ĭespite all of the breathless excitement it evokes, JWST has presented astronomers with an unsettling problem. Instead of about 10% as is usual (blue arc), the data suggest these galaxy candidates have converted 100% of available atoms into stars. In this study, three galaxy candidates (indicated by a single point spread) appear to be using up a much larger fraction of available atoms for stars than expected. “So while 100% conversion of gas into stars is technically right at the edge of what is theoretically possible, it’s really the case that this would require something to be very different from what we expect.” Based on the standard model of cosmology, astronomers predict what fraction of the atoms in the universe (vertical axis) is contained in galaxies with a certain mass of stars or higher (horizontal axis). “We typically see a maximum of 10% of gas converted into stars,” Boylan-Kolchin said. One of the most extreme possibilities is that the universe was expanding faster shortly after the Big Bang than we predict, which might require new forces and particles.”įor galaxies to form so fast at such a size, they also would need to be converting nearly 100% of their available gas into stars. “We’ll require something very new about galaxy formation or a modification to cosmology. “If the masses are right, then we are in uncharted territory,” said Mike Boylan-Kolchin, associate professor of astronomy who led the study. One of the galaxies even appears to be more massive than the Milky Way, despite the fact that our own galaxy had billions of more years to form and grow. That’s because other researchers estimate that each galaxy is seen from between 500 million and 700 million years after the Big Bang, yet measures more than 10 billion times as massive as our sun. In a study published in Nature Astronomy, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin find that six of the earliest and most massive galaxy candidates observed by JWST stand to contradict the prevailing thinking in cosmology. AUSTIN, Texas - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) appears to be finding multiple galaxies that grew too massive too soon after the Big Bang, if the standard model of cosmology is to be believed.
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