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Image Credit: Universe Today
This Ancient Galaxy Cluster is Still Forming Stars When it Should be ‘Red and Dead’
- The Phoenix Cluster, a massive galaxy cluster, defies expectations by continuing vigorous star formation despite its age.
- Traditionally, older galaxies stop forming stars due to lack of cold gas or having it stripped away, becoming 'quenched.'
- The cluster's central galaxy, located 5.8 billion light-years away, displays bright cores suggesting ongoing star formation.
- Astronomers attribute this unexpected star formation to black hole jets from active galactic nuclei preventing gas cooling.
- Research using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveals warm gas transitions essential for star formation in the Phoenix Cluster.
- JWST observations show warm gas co-spatial with cold gas and active star-forming sites, supporting a link between cooling gas and star formation.
- The Phoenix Cluster generates cold gas internally for star formation, challenging the notion that it acquires gas from outside sources.
- The research unveils that the central black hole in the cluster promotes gas cooling rather than preventing it, playing a crucial role in regulating and promoting cooling.
- This discovery sheds light on the ongoing star formation in ancient galaxy clusters and offers new insights into galaxy evolution mechanisms.
- The study's findings provide valuable insights into the complex processes governing star formation in massive galaxy clusters like the Phoenix Cluster.
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