A picture of a young galaxy throws a theory about the formation of a galaxy on its head

Scientists have challenged our current understanding of how galaxies form by revealing images of a young galaxy in early life on Earth that appear surprisingly mature.

The galaxy, known as ALESS 073.1, appears to have all the features expected from a much more mature galaxy and has questioned the team of scientists as it grew so fast.

The new research was published today in Science.

Galaxies come in many shapes, sizes and colors, and are made up of different parts such as a rotating disk, a spinning arm, and bulges.

The main goal of modern astronomy is to understand why different galaxies look the way they do today and when their different parts were created.

The team, led by scientists at Cardiff University, used the Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope as a ‘time machine’ to peer into the past, emerging as which ALESS 073.1 looked just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang.

Since the light emitted from the galaxy took billions of years to reach our telescopes on Earth, the team was able to study what the galaxy looked like in its infancy and find its -out how it was first created.

The result was one of the most straightforward, sharp images of a primordial galaxy ever made that allowed the team to study their internal structure in detail.

“We discovered that this galaxy already had a large bulge, a regular rotating disk, and possibly spinning arms when the Universe was only 10% of its current age,” said the lead author Dr Federico Lelli, who undertook the work at Cardiff University ‘s School of Physics and Astronomy, will study.

“In other words, this galaxy looks like a grown adult, but it should just be a small child.”

Co-author of the study, Dr Timothy Davis, from the School of Physics and Astronomy, said: “This remarkable discovery challenges our current understanding of how galaxies form because we believe that these traits only arose in “mature” galleries, not in young ones. “

One key feature of a galaxy is the presence of a so-called bulge – a group of tight stars usually located in the center of the constellation.

Large bulges were believed to be formed slowly by the union of smaller galaxies or by specific processes that took place within the galaxy itself; however, the kinematic properties of ALESS 073.1 have shown that the formation of large bulges can occur very quickly – about half of the stars in the galaxy have been shown to be in a bulge.

Similarly, some mature galaxies, like our own Milky Way, are known to have spiral arms extending from their central parts, giving them a distinctive spiral shape.

Similar features were also unexpectedly seen in ALESS 073.1, which surprised the team, as early galaxies are thought to be generally chaotic and disruptive because they have regular organized structures such as spiral arms.

“A galaxy like ALESS 073.1 just goes against our understanding of galaxy formation,” Dr. Lelli concluded.

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Notes to editors

1). For more information, contact:

Michael Bishop

Cardiff University

02920 874499

[email protected]

2). Cardiff University is recognized in independent government evaluations as one of Britain’s leading teaching and research universities and is a member of the Russell Group of the UK’s most research-intensive universities. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework recognized the 5th UK University for research excellence. His academic staff includes two Nobel Laureates, including the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Medicine, Professor Sir Martin Evans. Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, today the University combines impressive modern facilities with a dynamic approach to teaching and research. The University’s area of ​​expertise includes: College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Biomedical and Life Sciences; and the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, along with a long-term commitment to lifelong learning.