“One of the most puzzling questions” of the early universe has been answered

Researchers have discovered a type of light in the early universe that should not have been visible. Thanks to the James Webb Telescope, the mystery has now been solved.

CAMBRIDGE – Since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been in space and peering deep into the universe, it has solved many mysteries – as well as raising new questions. Now the James Webb Space Telescope has solved “one of the most puzzling questions” in space, according to researcher Callum Witten. mentioned. It's about a specific type of light that researchers discovered at the beginning of the universe, but which shouldn't actually be visible, at least according to current theory. It concerns the detection of light from hydrogen atoms in the very early universe.

“It should have been completely obscured by the original neutral gas that formed after the Big Bang,” confirms Witten, who is researching at the University of Cambridge and working with a team to get to the bottom of the mystery. It was a study by the research group In the specialized magazine Nature astronomy published. “Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the Great Escape of this 'unexplained' emission,” the researcher said. How can light from the very early universe be observed today?

The James Webb Space Telescope sees many small galaxies while Hubble sees only one large galaxy

Witten's research team discovered the answer through the James Webb Telescope, in which NASA and the European Space Agency are participating. Because the James Webb Space Telescope saw several smaller galaxies where the Hubble Telescope was only able to detect one large galaxy. Webb sees a group of small interacting galaxies, and this discovery has enhanced our understanding of the unexpected hydrogen emission from some of the first galaxies. “Galaxies are strongly affected,” explains co-author Sergio Martin Alvarez (Stanford University).

Following this result, computer simulations were used to further investigate the physical processes. The team led by Witten and Martin Alvarez found that as galaxies merged, stellar mass accumulated rapidly – ​​resulting in a powerful hydrogen emission and making it easier for this radiation to escape. For the research team, the high merger rate of smaller galaxies observed for the first time could convincingly explain the mystery of the “inexplicable” hydrogen emission, and the mystery has been solved. (unpaid bill)