Astrophysicists from Northwestern University in Illinois have discovered that the universe's youngest galaxies, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), are not as vast as their brightness suggests.
This challenges previous perceptions about these galaxies, helping our understanding of the universe shortly after the Big Bang, the scientists say.
In their study, the researchers were initially surprised by their excessive brightness.
They said it appeared as if a toddler had matured into an adult within mere years, prompting concerns about our understanding of the cosmos.
Prof Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere, Northwestern's senior researcher, said: “The discovery of these galaxies was a big surprise because they were substantially brighter than anticipated.”
The question of how these galaxies had matured so quickly after the Big Bang the arose.
The team employed new simulations to solve this cosmic riddle.
While a galaxy's luminosity usually reflects its mass, the team found that smaller galaxies can also shine intensely due to sporadic bursts of star formation,
Research lead Dr Guochao Sun noted: “If star formation happens in bursts, it will emit flashes of light. That is why we see several very bright galaxies.”
The era called the “cosmic dawn”, ranging from roughly 100 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang, witnessed the birth of the universe's first stars and galaxies.
Our knowledge about this period was limited until the launch of the space telescope.
“The JWST brought us a lot of knowledge about cosmic dawn,” Dr Sun said.
The study team employed intricate computer simulations to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang.
These simulations spotlighted a phenomenon called “bursty star formation” – an alternating pattern of intense star birth followed by extended periods of star-formation dormancy.
“Bursty star formation is particularly prevalent in low-mass galaxies,” Prof Faucher-Giguere said, detailing the cyclic nature of stars forming, then exploding as supernovae, leading to new formations.
Significantly, the simulations aligned with the JWST's observations regarding the brightness of cosmic dawn galaxies.
This research not only provides the first evidence through detailed computer simulations that bursty star formation could account for the luminance of galaxies at cosmic dawn but also supports our standard model of the universe.
Emphasising the importance of recent star formation in determining galaxy brightness, Prof Faucher-Giguere concluded, “Most of the light in a galaxy comes from the most massive stars.
"The brightness of a galaxy is more directly related to how many stars it has formed in the last few million years than the mass of the galaxy as a whole.”
The study called 'Bursty star formation naturally explains the abundance of bright galaxies at cosmic dawn' was supported by Nasa and the National Science Foundation, and published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advana, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
