Astronomers have detected signs of water in a galaxy located 12.8 billion lightyears from Earth. This makes it the most distant and earliest known star system.
A number of molecules were found in SPT0311-58, a massive galaxy dating to when the universe was just 780 million years old.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign astronomers found evidence of the water molecules, made of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, in the ancient galaxy.
This suggests the ‘molecular universe got going very early’, they said, going from helium and hydrogen, or helium hydride, to more complex combinations quickly.
The core of a star is where elements heavier than helium or hydrogen are fused. This suggests that the first stars formed, then died, and that their deaths produced molecules within 800,000,000 years.
This in turn led us to all we know today, including Earth, Sun, Solar System and humanity.
These images show the molecular and dust continuums seen in ALMA observations of SPT0311-58, a pair of early massive galaxies.
The new research involved some complex and detailed studies on molecular gas in early universe.
The team was able to see evidence of water molecules in the past, which gave them insight into how fast the universe changed, they said.
The area in which the molecules were discovered, SPT031158, is made up two galaxies. This was first observed by ALMA researchers in 2017.
It is 12.8billion light years away from Earth. This means that the light we see is from 12.8billion years ago, during a time called the Epoch of Remionization.
This epoch occurred when the universe was just five percent of its current age. It was also when the first stars and galaxies appeared.
The light shows that the galaxies appear to be merging. The rapid star formation rate of the galaxies is consuming their gas and causing them eventually to form a pair massive elliptical galaxy.
Sreevani Jarugula, the lead author, said that they used high-resolution ALMA to observe molecular gas in two galaxies collectively known as SPT031158. They found both water and carbon monoxide molecules within the larger of the two galaxies.
The principal investigator and astronomer explained that Oxygen and Carbon are the first-generation elements and are found in the molecular forms carbon monoxide, water, and oxygen.
SPT0311-58, which is the largest known galaxy from the early days of the universe, has more gas and dust than other galaxies.
Jarugula said, “This gives me plenty of potential opportunities for us to observe abundant molecules and to improve our understanding of how these life-creating factors impacted the evolution of the early Universe.”
Water is the third most abundant molecule in the universe after molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with previous studies of galaxies in the local and early universe correlating water emission and the far-infrared emission from dust.
“The dust absorbs ultraviolet radiation from stars in the galaxy and emits it as far-infrared photosns.
“This further excites the water molecules, giving rise water emission that scientists may be able to observe. This allowed us to detect water emissions in this massive galaxy.
This could be used to determine water as a tracer for star formation. It could then be applied to galaxies at a cosmological level.
The bright blue glow is a dust continuum with molecular line for H20. This was seen in the galaxy very early in its history.
Scientists can learn more about the formation of the first galaxies in the universe by studying their evolution, birth, and growth. This helps them to understand the Earth and the entire solar system.
Jarugula said that “early galaxies form stars at a rate of thousands of times the Milky Way’s.”
“Studying the gas- and dust content of these galaxies early on gives us information about their properties, such a how many stars are being created, the rate at gas conversion into stars, how galaxies interact one with another and with the interstellar medium, etc.
Jarugula says there is still much to learn about SPT031158 and the galaxies in the early universe.
This artist’s conception shows the dust continuum and molecular lines of carbon monoxide and water seen in the pair of galaxies known as SPT0311-58
They are looking for answers to the following questions:
Jarugula stated that the answer lies in further study of these galaxies and other star-forming galaxies in order to gain a better understanding of the evolution and structural formation of the early Universe.
Joe Pesce (astrophysicist, ALMA Program Director at National Science Foundation) said that this exciting result shows the power and potential of ALMA.
“These molecules are important for life on Earth and they are forming as quickly as possible. Their observation is giving us insight into fundamental processes in a universe that is very different from ours today.
What is ALMA?
Deep in Chile’s desert, the Atacama Large Millimetre Array or ALMA is found in one of the driest areas on Earth.
The construction of the aircraft was completed at an altitude of 16,400 feet. This is approximately half the height of a Jumbo Jet and nearly four times that of Ben Nevis.
It was switched on in March 2013 and is the most powerful ground-based telescope in the world.
It is also the highest on the planet and, at almost £1 billion ($1.2 billion), one of the most expensive of its kind.
Deep in Chile’s desert, the Atacama Large Millimetre Array or ALMA is found in one of the driest areas on Earth. It is the most powerful ground-based telescope in the world, having been switched on in March 2013.