HD1

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HD1
Three-color image of galaxy HD1.jpg
Three-color image of HD1, the most distant galaxy candidate to date, created using data from the VISTA telescope in Paranal Observatory. The red object in the center of the zoom-in image is HD1. [1]
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Sextans [2] [3]
Right ascension 10h 01m 51.31s [2]
Declination 02° 32 50.0 [2]
Redshift 13.27 [2]
Distance

HD1 is a proposed high-redshift galaxy, which is considered (as of April 2022) to be one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies yet identified in the observable universe. The galaxy, with an estimated redshift of approximately z = 13.27, is seen as it was about 324 million years after the Big Bang, which was 13.787 billion years ago. [6] It has a light-travel distance (lookback time) of 13.463 billion light-years from Earth, and, due to the expansion of the universe, a present proper distance of 33.288 billion light-years. [5]

Contents

Discovery

The discovery of the proposed high-redshift galaxy HD1 (RA:10:01:51.31 DEC:+02:32:50.0) in the Sextans constellation, [2] [3] along with another high-redshift galaxy, HD2 (RA:02:18:52.44 DEC:-05:08:36.1) in the Cetus constellation, [2] [3] was reported by astronomers at the University of Tokyo on 7 April 2022. These two galaxies were found in two patches of sky surveyed by the Cosmic Evolution Survey and by the Subaru Telescope in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey Field respectively. They were found by looking for objects that are much brighter in the so-called K band of infrared than in the H band (around 1.6 microns), which could indicate a Lyman-break galaxy red-shifted by a factor of around 13. For this reason they were named "HD 1" and "HD 2" (for "H band dropout", not to be confused with stars HD 1 and HD 2 in the Henry Draper Catalog. [2]

Physical properties

HD1 is one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies yet identified in the observable universe, having a spectroscopic redshift of z = 13.27, meaning that the light from the galaxy travelled for 13.5 billion years on its way to Earth, which due to the expansion of the universe, corresponds to a proper distance of approximately 33.4  billion light-years (10.2 billion parsecs ). [1] [2] [4] [7] [8] [9] The observed position of HD1 was determined to be about 330 million years after the Big Bang. [10] Another similar high-redshift galaxy, HD2, was determined to be nearly as far away as HD1. [11]

HD1's unusually high brightness has been an open question for its discoverers; it has a significantly more luminous ultraviolet emission than similar galaxies at its redshift range. Possible explanations have been proposed, one being that it is an active Lyman-break galaxy, or a rather extreme starburst galaxy producing stars at a rate far higher than any previously observed. It is also considered that it may have a significant population of Population III stars that are far more massive and luminous than present-day stars. [12] Another scenario is that it may be a quasar hosting a supermassive black hole; such a scenario would put constraints on models of black hole growth in such an early stage of the universe. A resolution to the true nature of the galaxy would likely await confirmations from the James Webb Space Telescope. [13]

The previous farthest known galaxy, GN-z11, discovered in 2015, had a redshift of 11, suggesting that the observed position of the galaxy is about 420 million years after the Big Bang. [11]

An early galaxy candidate (at z=13.3) and the History of the Universe (logarithmic scale; (7 April 2022)
[Compare: Nature timeline - History of the Universe (linear scale)] EarliestGalaxyCandidates-20220407.jpg

Future considerations

According to the discoverers of HD1 and HD2, "If spectroscopically confirmed, these two sources [ie, HD1 and HD2] will represent a remarkable laboratory to study the Universe at previously inaccessible redshifts." [7] The researchers expect even further clarification of the astronomical objects, including better identifying the objects as galaxies, or, possibly as quasars or black holes, when carefully examined by the James Webb Space Telescope, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and GREX-PLUS space missions. [2] HD1, on close examination, may also reveal the first visible Population III stars, due to its very early age. [13] In addition, the researchers claim that the use of the new upcoming space telescopes could help discover over 10,000 galaxies at this early epoch of the Universe. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass ranging from millions to tens of billions of solar masses, surrounded by a gaseous accretion disc. Gas in the disc falling towards the black hole heats up and releases energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The radiant energy of quasars is enormous; the most powerful quasars have luminosities thousands of times greater than that of a galaxy such as the Milky Way. Quasars are usually categorized as a subclass of the more general category of AGN. The redshifts of quasars are of cosmological origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redshift</span> Change of wavelength in photons during travel

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">APM 08279+5255</span> Quasar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GRB 090423</span> Gamma-ray burst detected in 2009

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">UDFy-38135539</span> Distant galaxy in the constellation Fornax

UDFy-38135539 is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) identifier for a galaxy which was calculated as of October 2010 to have a light travel time of 13.1 billion years with a present proper distance of around 30 billion light-years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ULAS J1120+0641</span> One of the most distant quasars known

ULAS J1120+0641 was the most distant known quasar when discovered in 2011, surpassed in 2017 by ULAS J1342+0928. ULAS J1120+0641 was the first quasar discovered beyond a redshift of z = 7. Its discovery was reported in June 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MACS0647-JD</span> The farthest known galaxy from the Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis

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z8_GND_5296 Dwarf galaxy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">EGS-zs8-1</span>

EGS-zs8-1 is a high-redshift Lyman-break galaxy found at the northern constellation of Boötes. In May 2015, EGS-zs8-1 had the highest spectroscopic redshift of any known galaxy, meaning EGS-zs8-1 was the most distant and the oldest galaxy observed. In July 2015, EGS-zs8-1 was surpassed by EGSY8p7 (EGSY-2008532660).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GN-z11</span> High-redshift galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

GN-z11 is a high-redshift galaxy found in the constellation Ursa Major. It is among the farthest known galaxies from Earth ever discovered. The 2015 discovery was published in a 2016 paper headed by Pascal Oesch and Gabriel Brammer. Up until the discovery of JADES-GS-z13-0 in 2022 by the James Webb Space Telescope, GN-z11 was the oldest and most distant known galaxy yet identified in the observable universe, having a spectroscopic redshift of z = 10.957, which corresponds to a proper distance of approximately 32 billion light-years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TON 618</span> Quasar and Lyman-alpha blob in the constellation Canes Venatici

TON 618 is a hyperluminous, broad-absorption-line, radio-loud quasar and Lyman-alpha blob located near the border of the constellations Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices, with the projected comoving distance of approximately 18.2 billion light-years from Earth. It possesses one of the most massive black holes ever found, at 40.7 billion M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ULAS J1342+0928</span> Second most distant quasar known located in the constellation Boötes

ULAS J1342+0928 is the second-most distant known quasar detected and contains the second-most distant and oldest known supermassive black hole, at a reported redshift of z = 7.54. The ULAS J1342+0928 quasar is located in the Boötes constellation. The related supermassive black hole is reported to be "800 million times the mass of the Sun".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1</span> Blue supergiant and second most distant star from earth detected in the constellation Leo

MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1, also known as Icarus, is a blue supergiant star observed through a gravitational lens. It is the seventh most distant individual star to have been detected so far, at approximately 14 billion light-years from Earth. Light from the star was emitted 4.4 billion years after the Big Bang. According to co-discoverer Patrick Kelly, the star is at least a hundred times more distant than the next-farthest non-supernova star observed, SDSS J1229+1122, and is the first magnified individual star seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHL0137-LS</span> Most distant known star, discovered 2022

WHL0137-LS, also known as Earendel, is a star in the constellation of Cetus. Discovered in 2022 by the Hubble Space Telescope, it is the earliest and most distant known star, at a comoving distance of 28 billion light-years. The previous furthest known star, MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1, also known as Icarus, at a comoving distance of 14.4 billion light-years, was discovered by Hubble in 2018. Stars like Earendel can be observed at cosmological distances thanks to the large magnification factors involved, that can exceed 1000. Other stars have been observed through this technique, such as Godzilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GLASS-z12</span> Lyman-break galaxy that is one of the oldest galaxies known

GLASS-z12 is a Lyman-break galaxy discovered by the Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS) observing program using the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam in July 2022. Spectroscopic observations of GLASS-z12 by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in August 2022 confirmed that the galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of 12.117±0.012, making it one of the earliest and most distant galaxies ever discovered, dating back to just 350 million years after the Big Bang, 13.6 billion years ago. ALMA observations detected an emission line associated with doubly ionized oxygen at 258.7 GHz with a significance of 5σ, suggesting that there is very low dust content in GLASS-z12, if not the early universe as well. Also based on oxygen-related measurements, the age of the galaxy is confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CEERS-93316</span> Possibly one of the oldest galaxies observed

CEERS-93316 is a high-redshift galaxy with a spectroscopic redshift z=4.9. Significantly, the redshift that was initially reported was photometric and would have made CEERS-93316 the earliest and most distant known galaxy observed.

F200DB-045 is a candidate high-redshift galaxy, with an estimated redshift of approximately z = 20.4, corresponding to 168 million years after the Big Bang. If confirmed, it would be one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies observed.

References

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  5. 1 2 Kempner, Joshua (2022). "KEMPNER Cosmology Calculator". Kempner.net. Retrieved 6 August 2022. KEMP Cosmology Calculator - Set H0=67.4 and OmegaM=0.315 (see Table/Planck2018 at "Lambda-CDM model#Parameters")
  6. Planck Collaboration (2020). "Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 641. page A6 (see PDF page 15, Table 2: "Age/Gyr", last column). arXiv: 1807.06209 . Bibcode:2020A&A...641A...6P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833910. S2CID   119335614.
  7. 1 2 Pacucci, Fabio; et al. (7 April 2022). "Are the newly-discovered z ~ 13 drop-out sources starburst galaxies or quasars?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 514: L6–L10. arXiv: 2201.00823 . doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slac035 . Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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  9. Wenz, John (7 April 2022). "Behold! Astronomers May Have Discovered The Most Distant Galaxy Ever – HD1 could be from just 300 million years after the Big Bang". Inverse . Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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  11. 1 2 3 Carlisle, Camille M. (7 April 2022). "Are These The Most Distant Galaxies Yet Seen? – Two fuzzy red objects in the early universe may be galaxies shining at us from only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang". Sky & Telescope . Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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  13. 1 2 Overbye, Dennis (7 April 2022). "Astronomers Find What Might Be the Most Distant Galaxy Yet – Is the object a galaxy of primordial stars or a black hole knocking on the door of time? The Webb space telescope may help answer that question". The New York Times . Retrieved 7 April 2022.