Revolutionary discovery: Magnetic field in a distant galaxy could be key to stellar evolution

the Magnetic fields Essential for development GalaxiesAnd played a major role in Astrophysics Of the interstellar medium and star formation. The required large-scale magnetic fields have been mapped in milky way And in nearby galaxies, but it is not known when such structures were formed in the universe.

Now, using Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA)Astronomers have discovered the magnetic field of a galaxy far, far away Its light took more than 11 billion years To reach us: So it is possible to see it as it was when the universe was only 2.5 billion years old. The result provides astronomers with vital clues about how the magnetic fields of galaxies like our own Milky Way originate.

Many astronomical objects in the universe, whether planets, stars or galaxies, have magnetic fields. “Many people may not realize that our entire galaxy and other galaxies are entangled with magnetic fields extending tens of thousands of light-years across,” said James Geach, professor of astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom, and lead author of the study. Published in nature.

“In reality We know very little about how these fields form“Although they are very fundamental to the evolution of galaxies,” adds Enrique López Rodriguez, a researcher at Stanford University in the US, who also participated in the study.

It is not clear when the universe began and how quickly magnetic fields formed in galaxies, because astronomers have so far only mapped magnetic fields in galaxies near us.

In this research, the latest research on this topic is done using ALMA, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO), NASA, and GETCH participate He and his team discovered a fully formed magnetic field in a distant galaxy, similar in structure to what is observed in nearby galaxies. This field is about 1,000 times weaker than Earth’s field, but it extends over 16,000 light-years.

“This discovery gives us new clues about how magnetic fields form on a galactic scale,” explains Geach. Observing a fully developed magnetic field at such an early stage in the universe’s history suggests that magnetic fields covering entire galaxies could form rapidly while small galaxies are still developing.

The team believes that intense star formation in the early universe played a role in accelerating the evolution of these fields. Furthermore, these could in turn affect how subsequent generations of stars form. Co-author and ESO astronomer Rob Ivison says the discovery opens up “a A new window into the inner workings of galaxiesBecause magnetic fields are bound to the matter that forms new stars.

To make this discovery, the team looked for light emitted by dust grains in a distant galaxy, 9io9. These grains are usually filled with dust, and when there is a magnetic field, they tend to align and the light they emit becomes polarized. This means that the light waves oscillate in a preferred direction rather than randomly.

When ALMA discovered and mapped a polarized signal from 9io9, the existence of a magnetic field in a galaxy far, far away was confirmed for the first time.. “No other telescope could have achieved this,” says Geach. The hope is that with these and future observations of distant magnetic fields, the mystery of how these fundamental galactic features form will begin to be solved.