Apparently lonely quasars after the Big Bang pose a mystery to researchers
Bright galactic nuclei were not supposed to occur everywhere shortly after the Big Bang. Now some have been discovered in seemingly impossible places.
One of the lonely quasars
(Image: Christina Eilers/EIGER team)
A research team has found quasars in the early days of the universe that appear to be so lonely that it is unclear how they could have formed in the first place. These supermassive black holes, around which a lot of gas and dust races, which is extremely heated and therefore shines brightly, require particularly large amounts of matter to form. In order for the observed galactic nuclei to become as bright as observed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, they would have to be located in comparatively dense regions of the universe, the research team explains. But then there would have to be many other galaxies in their vicinity. However, precisely these were not found in several quasars and it is therefore unclear how they were able to reach this state so quickly.
"Seemingly in nowhere"
As more and more quasars have been found almost immediately after the Big Bang in recent years thanks to increasingly powerful instruments such as the James Webb space telescope, the question of their origin has already been raised. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) summarizes the current state of research by suggesting that they could grow particularly quickly in relatively dense areas of the universe. However, this would also mean that many other galaxies would have to be found in their vicinity, whose growth would also be favored by the existing matter. Lonely galaxies without any companions contradict this theory and represent a new puzzle for research, the team explained.
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The unaccompanied quasars have now been found using the James Webb space telescope. An analysis of five such galaxy nuclei revealed a "surprising variety" of environments, the team writes. There were some with the predicted numerous neighbors, but also some without them. Quasars, which were formed only 600 million to 700 million years after the Big Bang, therefore appear, contrary to expectations, to be located not only where the matter is particularly dense. "Some seem to be in the middle of nowhere," explains Anna-Christina Eilers from MIT. It is difficult to explain how they have nevertheless become so large when there is not enough "food" for them.
As a possible explanation for the apparent loneliness of the galactic nuclei, the research team can still imagine that any existing neighbors are merely hidden behind dust. This is to be verified with improved observations. Overall, however, the discovery fits in with various other discoveries made by the James Webb space telescope, all of which call into question our understanding of the early days of the universe. The powerful instrument has repeatedly discovered objects that appear to be far too large far too early. The work on the lonely quasars, for which this applies once again, is now being presented in the Astrophysical Journal.
(mho)
