This finding could challenge astronomers’ current expectations for the rate at which galaxies develop in the early universe.
Astronomers have discovered a distant galaxy using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the International Gemini Observatory, which appears to be remarkably solitary.
Located about 9.2 billion light-years away from Earth, the galaxy, named 3C 297, has devoured all of its former companion galaxies. Despite exhibiting features of a typical galaxy cluster, including a quasar at its center, 3C 297 stands alone.
According to Valentina Missaglia of the University of Torino in Italy, who led the study, “It seems that we have a galaxy cluster that is missing almost all of its galaxies. We expected to see at least a dozen galaxies about the size of the Milky Way, yet we see only one.”
The Chandra X-ray data shows two crucial traits of a galaxy cluster: a significant amount of gas surrounding the lone galaxy at temperatures of tens of millions of degrees, and powerful X-ray emissions produced by the supermassive black hole’s jet at a distance of 140,000 light-years.
Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the International Gemini Observatory, astronomers have discovered a distant and solitary galaxy named 3C 297, located 9.2 billion light-years away from Earth.
This galaxy contains a quasar, a supermassive black hole at the center that pulls in gas and emits powerful radio waves. Surprisingly, 3C 297 appears to have assimilated all of its companion galaxies and stands alone despite having features of a galaxy cluster.
Researchers expected to see several Milky Way-sized galaxies, but only found one. The Chandra X-ray data revealed two key characteristics of a galaxy cluster: a significant amount of hot gas surrounding the lone galaxy and powerful X-ray emission from the supermassive black hole’s jet.
This discovery may challenge current understanding of galaxy growth in the early universe.
The discovery of the lonely galaxy 3C 297, which has assimilated all of its former companion galaxies, challenges current understanding of how quickly galaxies and galaxy clusters formed in the early universe.
Co-author Mischa Schirmer of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy believes that the system’s creation only 4.6 billion years after the big bang may be difficult to explain, pushing the limits on current cosmological ideas.
Despite the possibility of dwarf galaxies in 3C 297, their existence would not account for the absence of larger galaxies like the Milky Way. The galaxy will remain isolated for billions of years.