Dalhousie prof helps find galaxy cluster with hot gas 1.4 billion years after Big Bang

A team including a Dalhousie University professor studied a young galaxy cluster, SPT2349-56, seen about 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang and found its gas to be roughly five times hotter than current models predict.

Astronomers have identified a very young galaxy cluster, SPT2349-56, seen about 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. The discovery involved Canadian researchers and an international team, and a Dalhousie University professor is a co-author. Observations used a set of radio telescopes built by the National Research Council of Canada. The cluster's atmosphere was measured as much hotter than expected under current models. Scientists say this challenges assumptions about how quickly cluster environments form. Key observations: - The object studied is the cluster SPT2349-56, observed from roughly 12 billion years ago, or about 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. - The intracluster gas was measured at about five times the temperature predicted by standard models. - The system contains more than 30 active galaxies and a star-formation rate reported as over 5,000 times that of the Milky Way. - The infant cluster spans roughly 500,000 light years, comparable to the Milky Way's halo in size. - Researchers report three recently identified supermassive black holes in the cluster that may be injecting large amounts of energy into the surroundings. Summary: The observations suggest the young cluster environment was hotter and more active than current models anticipated, which could affect ideas about how quickly clusters evolve. Researchers say they want to understand how intense star formation, active black holes, and the hot intracluster atmosphere interact. Undetermined at this time.