According to the latest observations of the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) located in the Chilean desert, astronomers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the U.S. are located at a distance of 12.88 billion light-years from the Earth, the most massive in the early universe. Water and carbon monoxide were found in the galaxy SPT0311-58.
The large number of detections of these two molecules indicated that the molecular universe became stronger shortly after the early elements were formed.
This is the most detailed study so far on the molecular gas content of a galaxy in the early universe, and the farthest detection of water molecules in conventional star-forming galaxies.
The research was published in the November 3rd issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
SPT0311-58 is actually composed of two galaxies and was first discovered in 2017. It was formed during the reionization period of the universe.
The reionization period occurred when the universe was only 780 million years old, when a group of stars and galaxies were being born (the current universe is about 14 billion years old).
Scientists believe that the two galaxies may be merging and eventually evolve into the highest-mass, high-redshift galaxy currently known.
Compared with other galaxies in the early universe, it has more gas and dust, giving people the opportunity to observe abundant molecules and better understand how these life-creating elements affect the birth, growth and evolution of the early universe.
This research not only helps to study the possible location and distance of water in the universe, but also raises a big question: How do stars and galaxies form when so much gas and dust have gathered in the universe so early?
To know the answer, further research on these and similar star-forming galaxies is needed to better understand the formation and evolution of the structure of the early universe.
(Producing Le Xiaomin)
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】