Ancient galaxy is forming 1,000 times more stars than Milky Way
High levels of gas within the galaxy are triggering runaway star formation.
By Laurel Kornfeld | Sep 02, 2018
A 12.4-billion year old starburst galaxy is forming stars 1,000 times faster than the Milky Way, according to a team of scientists who studied it using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile.
The researchers found molecular clouds within the huge galaxy, designated COSMOS-AzTEC-1, to be very unstable, a condition that causes runaway star formation. Dense gas clumps within the galaxy are so concentrated that they are rapidly collapsing and forming stars. At this rate, the clouds may be completely gone within 100 million years.
Typically, molecular clouds in galaxies are kept stable by outward pressure from star formation and supernova explosions of dying massive stars. The clouds collapse and form stars when their gravity overcomes this pressure. New stars and supernova explosions then increase the pressure in what becomes a stable cycle, with moderate star-formation rates.
COSMOS-AzTEC-1's pressure is much weaker than its gravity, resulting in runaway star formation.
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Distant galaxy forms stars at incredible pace, study reports
A newly discovered galaxy makes stars much, much faster than the Milky Way does.
By Joseph Scalise | Sep 04, 2018
Scientists working with Chile's Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have observed a galaxy that forms stars at an unprecedented rate, a new study published in Naturereports.
The distant "Monster Galaxy" -- known as COSMOS-AzTEC-1 -- came about roughly 2 billion years after the Big Bang. While it appears normal at first glance, it is unique because it generates over a thousand Suns worth of gas of stars each year.
That trait is important because, while scientists do not understand early galaxies, the new discovery could shed light on why certain systems form stars so fast.
When studying the new system, astronomers found that the clumpy gas inside of it has a stronger gravitational pull on itself than the force of the galaxy's rotation from stars and supernovae. In addition, they also discovered it had two extra areas of gas-generating stars, rather than just one dense cloud of material.
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https://thespacereporter.com/article.php?n=distant-galaxy-forms-stars-at-incredible-pace-study-reports&id=164820
