JWST study suggests a handful of 'leaky' galaxies reionized the early universe
A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of "leaky" galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization.
A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of "leaky" galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization.
The short version
- The paper outlining this work was posted to the arXiv preprint server on July 24.
- This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies .
- The ultraviolet radiation responsible for cosmic reionization is mainly composed of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons with wavelengths less than 912 Å.
What happened
Their escape fraction from galaxies, along with the rate of their production, determines whether they reach and ionize the intergalactic medium because most LyC photons are absorbed internally by gas and dust. The goal of the work was also to determine which type of galaxy drives cosmic reionization: a small number of galaxies that leak ionizing photons very efficiently or a large number of galaxies that each leak only a small fraction of their photons.
Why it matters
The team compiled spectral information from 1,428 galaxies observed by JWST/NIRSpec, spanning redshift 5–10, which translates to roughly 500 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Phys.org via the links above and below.