A striking image shows a dying galaxy that ejects 10,000 suns of gas each year after a giant collision, weakening its ability to form stars.
- Researchers observed the galaxy when the universe was 4.5 billion years old
- The ejected gas was probably the result of a previous fusion with another galaxy
- This gas leak caused the galaxy to stop producing new stars
An international team of astronomers has captured a sensational image of a dying galaxy, which ejects 10,000 suns each year due to a major collision.
New research led by the University of Durham examined the past nine billion years in search of evidence that galaxy mergers in the early universe could stop star formation.
These fusions force to filter gases from the galaxy and weaken its ability to form new stars, effectively marking the end of its life as an active body.
The team found that a large amount of star-forming gas was expelled into the intergalactic medium by the union of two galaxies.
Researchers say that this event, along with a large amount of star formation in the nuclear regions of the newly fused galaxy – named ID2299 – will end up depriving the single fused body of the fuel needed to form new stars.
This would stop the formation of stars for several hundred million years, effectively stopping the development of the galaxy.
This artist’s print on ID2299 shows the galaxy, the product of a galactic collision, and part of its gas expelled by a “tidal tail” as a result of the fusion.
Due to the amount of time it takes for the ID2299 light to reach Earth, researchers were able to see the galaxy as it would have appeared nine billion years ago when it was in the final stages of its fusion. .
This is a time when the universe was only 4.5 billion years old and was in its most active phase, “young adult”, compared to human life.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope at the Southern European Observatory in northern Chile, the researchers saw that it was expelling about half of its total gas deposit around the galaxy at a rate equivalent to 10,000 suns. every year.
The main author, Dra. Annagrazia Puglisi, of Durham University’s Center for Extragalactic Astronomy, said: “We still don’t know what the exact processes are behind the extinction of star formation in massive galaxies.
“Winds driven by feedback from star formation or active black holes are believed to be the main culprits in gas expulsion and stifling growth.
“Our research provides evidence that gas released from ID2299 has probably been ejected by fusion between two gas-rich galaxies.
“The gravitational interaction between two galaxies can provide enough angular momentum to expel some of the gas around the galaxy.
“This suggests that mergers are also capable of altering the future evolution of a galaxy by limiting its ability to form stars for millions of years and deserve more research when thinking about the factors that limit the growth of galaxies.” .
The researchers were able to rule out star formation and the active black hole in the galaxy as a reason for this expulsion by comparing their measurements with previous studies and simulations and measuring the physical properties of the escaped gas.
The rate at which gas is expelled from the ID2299 is too high to have been caused by the energy of a black hole or a starburst, as seen in previous studies.
The researchers say the simulations suggest that no black hole can expel as much cold gas from a galaxy as it has been expelled from ID2299.
The excitation of the escaped gas is also not compatible with a wind generated by a black hole or the birth of new stars.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope at the Southern European Observatory in northern Chile, researchers saw that it was expelling about half of its total gas deposit around the galaxy.
Co-author Dr. CEA-Saclay’s Emanuele Daddi said: “This galaxy is witnessing a truly extreme event.
“It is probably captured during an important physical phase for the evolution of galaxies that occurs in a relatively short period of time. We had to look at more than 100 galaxies with ALMA to find it.”
Its co-author, Dr. Jeremy Fensch, of the Lyon Astrophysics Research Center, added: “Studying this unique case revealed the possibility that such events are not at all unusual and that many galaxies suffer from this” elimination of gravitational gases. “., including misinterpreted past remarks.
“This can have huge consequences for our understanding of what actually forms the evolution of galaxies.”
Researchers now hope to obtain higher-resolution images of ID2299 and other distant galaxy mergers and conduct computer simulations to further understand the effect that galaxy mergers have on the life cycle of galaxies.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
WHAT IS SOUL?
At the bottom of the Chilean desert, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array or ALMA matrix is located in one of the driest places on Earth.
At an altitude of 16,400 feet, about half the cruising height of a jumbo plane and nearly four times the height of Ben Nevis, workers had to carry oxygen tanks to complete their construction.
Launched in March 2013, it is the most powerful ground-based telescope in the world.
It is also the highest on the planet and, at almost £ 1 billion, is one of the most expensive of its kind.
At the bottom of the Chilean desert, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array or ALMA matrix is located in one of the driest places on Earth. Launched in March 2013, it is the most powerful ground-based telescope in the world