An international group led by Dr. Alexandra Lo Resti of Stockholm University and the Oscar Klein Center used the Meerkat radio telescope to investigate the epoch of reionization, a crucial period that occurred a billion years after the Big Bang. This study, made possible by MeerKAT's increased sensitivity compared to older telescopes, explores how galaxy mergers affected how the universe changed during this epoch.
Image of the Harrow Galaxy 11. The stars in the galaxy, in white, are surrounded by a halo of ionized gas in red. New observations of neutral hydrogen, in blue, show that the gas was displaced by the merger of two galaxies creating Harrow 11.
The researchers focused on Harrow 11, a galaxy in the universe near us that emits strong ultraviolet radiation. They discovered an unusual distribution of neutral hydrogen, which is mainly concentrated on one side of the galaxy due to a previous merger. This observation suggests that galaxy mergers may play an important role in facilitating UV emission by moving gas away from galaxies. The study represents an important finding because ultraviolet emission initiated the era of reionization a few million years after the Big Bang.
“It is not unlikely that the mechanism we have identified, of gas being ejected away from the center of galaxies during galaxy mergers, could play an important role during the epoch of reionization.”
says Le Ristie.
MeerKAT is a precursor to the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which is expected to provide further insights into the era of reionization when it becomes operational in 2027. Other members of the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University who were part of the study include Matthew Hayes, Jens Millinder, Veronica Menaccio, Angela Adamo, Arjan Beck, Timmy Agdetjarn and Goran Östlin.
The study was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on January 19, 2024 and can be found here: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/528/1/757/7491076
Search group
Read more about
Last updated: January 19, 2024
Responsible page: Astronomy Department
“Entrepreneur. Freelance introvert. Creator. Passionate reader. Certified beer ninja. Food nerd.”
More Stories
“It looks like artificial intelligence from the movies”
Students discover and classify supernovae
For sale: Giant Anthem Advanced Pro 29 1