A galaxy that shouldn't exist has been discovered using the James Webb Telescope

Recently, astronomers Observations that challenge our current understanding of galaxy evolution through the discovery of an isolated, dormant dwarf galaxy Called PEARLSDG. The discovery occurred by chance while the team led by scientist Tim Carlton of Arizona State University was initially observing a galaxy cluster as part of the PEARLS project using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

What's surprising about PEARLSDG is that it doesn't show the usual characteristics of a dwarf galaxy. Unlike most dwarf galaxies, they do not interact with nearby galaxies or form new stars. This fact challenges current theories of galaxy formation, as dwarf galaxies are generally active star-forming environments or interacting with more massive companion galaxies.

Published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, Carleton's study highlights PEARLSDG's unique character in the galactic landscape. Its presence begs Important questions about how dwarf galaxies form and evolveIt provides new evidence about the diversity of galactic processes that can occur in the universe.

“These types of isolated, inactive dwarf galaxies have never been seen before, except in relatively few cases.” It's not expected to actually exist, given our current understanding of galaxy evolution, so the fact that we've seen this object helps us improve our theories about galaxy formation. “In general, dwarf galaxies that exist alone continue to form new stars,” Carleton said in a statement.

next to, Analysis of JWST images has revealed the presence of single stars in PEARLSDG, providing unprecedented details about its star formation. These stars, visible at infrared wavelengths, allowed astronomers to calculate the galaxy's distance to approximately 98 million light-years.

The study relied on data from multiple sources, including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona, and the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona. Ground-based observations from telescopes such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Legacy Dark Energy Camera Survey. Together, these results challenge our previous understandings of galactic evolution and open new vistas for exploring the diversity and complexity of the Universe.

The complexity of dwarf galaxies

a The study is based on the latest data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite A recent study revealed that most of the dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way could be out of balance and in the process of being destroyed after entering the galactic halo. This challenges the previous view that these galaxies were ancient, stable satellites orbiting the Milky Way billions of years ago.

Astronomers have used it The relationship between orbital energy and entry time into the galactic halo To date the Milky Way Galaxy, it has been discovered that most dwarf galaxies arrived much sooner than previously thought, less than 3 billion years ago. This means that these galaxies come from outside the galactic halo and have undergone major changes due to interaction with the hot gas present in the halo.

he Violent process of gas loss and gravitational shocks These have completely transformed dwarf galaxies, which now exhibit unbalanced stellar velocities and random motions. This challenges the previously existing idea that dark matter stabilizes these galaxies, as nonequilibrium prevents accurate estimates of their dynamical mass and dark matter content.

These results indicate that Observed properties of dwarf galaxies It is consistent with the absence of dark matter, which contradicts the previous understanding that these galaxies were dominated by dark matter. This study raises questions that are relevant to the standard cosmological model and highlights the need to revise our understanding of the evolution of dwarf galaxies over time.