Astronomers Observe Powerful Supernova-Driven Wind in Early Universe Galaxy
Researchers detected a supernova-driven galactic wind in a massive galaxy 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang that is removing gas at twice the rate of star formation. This is the first direct evidence that such winds can suppress star formation in early massive galaxies. The finding suggests that merger-driven outflows may explain why many massive galaxies stopped forming stars early in cosmic history.
An international team of astronomers has observed resolved cold and ionized gas in a powerful galactic outflow occurring in a massive galaxy at redshift z=5.3, approximately 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang. The outflow, likely triggered by ongoing merger activity, is removing gas at twice the rate at which the galaxy is forming stars and could potentially eject all cold gas from the galaxy within 100 million years. This represents the first direct observational evidence that supernova-driven winds can be powerful enough to meaningfully suppress star formation in early massive galaxies. The mass and energetics of this distant outflow are consistent with nearby starburst-driven superwinds, suggesting that the efficiency of stellar feedback has remained relatively constant over the past 12 billion years of cosmic history. These results support the theory that powerful merger-driven outflows may be a key mechanism responsible for producing the abundant population of massive quiescent galaxies observed in the early Universe.
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