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Universe Today
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Image Credit: Universe Today
We Might Finally Know How Galaxies Grow So Large
- Spheroids, also known as galactic bulges, are where most stars in the Universe reside.
- Elliptical galaxies are populated with older stars and astronomers don’t know how these ancient, bulging galaxies formed and evolved.
- Infrared/submillimetre-bright galaxies have long been suspected to be related to spheroid formation, but observing them is challenging.
- The Sersic index and the Spergel index helped astronomers characterize the complex structure of galaxies and led to new insights into how spheroids form through mergers and the resulting influx of cold, star-forming gas.
- The spheroids can maintain their shape for up to approximately 50 million years after the galaxy merge.
- After the intense period of star formation in the spheroid, the gas is used up, and things die down.
- These types of galaxies were more plentiful in the early Universe than they are now.
- The researchers’ results show that these galaxies used up their fuel quickly, forming the spheroids that are now populated by old stars.
- Previous research found evidence for tri-axiality also found heavy ellipticity and other evidence showing that submillimeter-bright galaxies are disks with bars in the submillimeter.
- The findings redefine our understanding of how galaxies were created in the early universe and give us a more complete picture of early galaxy formation.
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