Abundant molecules of water and carbon monoxide (crucial elements for life as we know it) have been identified in an ancient galaxy, the most massive known in the early universe: it is called SPT0311-58 and is located at 12.88 billion light years away from us. The discovery, made thanks to the high-resolution observations of the Alma telescope (Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array) in Chile, shows that the 'baby' universe was already active in forging molecules shortly after the appearance of elements such as carbon and oxygen, produced from the first generation of stars. The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal by an international team led by Sreevani Jarugula of the University of Illinois in the United States.
“This galaxy is the most massive currently known at high redshift, ie at the time when the universe was still very young,” explains Jarugula.
"It contains more gas and dust than other galaxies in the early universe, which gives us many potential opportunities to observe abundant molecules and better understand how these life-creating elements influenced the development of the early universe."
SPT0311-58's study is the most detailed to date on molecular gas content in an early universe galaxy, as well as the most distant detection of water in a normal star-forming galaxy.
"This study not only provides answers on where and how far away water can exist in the universe, but - Jarugula points out - has also raised a big question: how was it possible that such large quantities of gas and dust assembled to form stars and galaxies so early in the universe?
The answer requires further studies of these and other similar galaxies to gain a better understanding of the structural formation and evolution of the early universe ”.