May 13, 2024

Unlocking Einstein’s Treasure Chest: Webb’s Intriguing Insights Into the “El Gordo” Galaxy Cluster

El Gordo is a cluster of numerous galaxies that existed when the universe was 6.2 billion years of ages, making it a “cosmic teen.” Its the most enormous cluster understood to exist at that time. (” El Gordo” is Spanish for the “Fat One.”).
Gravitational Lensing and El Gordo.
El Gordo was chosen as the things of study due to its characteristic function as a natural, cosmic magnifying glass. This is made possible through a phenomenon understood as gravitational lensing, where the potent gravity of El Gordo warps and misshapes the light of the items located behind it, similar to how a glasses lens functions.
” Lensing by El Gordo increases the brightness and amplifies the sizes of far-off galaxies. This lensing effect supplies a distinct window into the far-off universe,” stated Brenda Frye of the University of Arizona.
In July 2022, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope observed El Gordo, a galaxy cluster that existed 6.2 billion years after the big bang. It was chosen as the most enormous galaxy cluster known at that time in cosmic history. The resulting image reveals a variety of gravitationally lensed galaxies, including striking objects nicknamed the Fishhook and the Thin One. Feature us on a video trip of this new infrared image from Webb.
The Fishhook.
Within the image of El Gordo, among the most striking features is an intense arc represented in red at upper right. Nicknamed “El Anzuelo” (The Fishhook) by among Fryes trainees, the light from this galaxy took 10.6 billion years to reach Earth. Its distinctive red color is due to a mix of reddening from dust within the galaxy itself and cosmological redshift due to its severe range.
By remedying for the distortions created by lensing, the team had the ability to figure out that the background galaxy is disk-shaped but only 26,000 light-years in size– about one-fourth the size of the Milky Way. They likewise were able to study the galaxys star development history, finding that star formation was already quickly decreasing in the galaxys center, a procedure referred to as quenching..
” We had the ability to thoroughly dissect the shroud of dust that envelops the galaxy center where stars are actively forming,” said Patrick Kamieneski of Arizona State University, lead author on a 2nd paper. [2] “Now, with Webb, we can peer through this thick curtain of dust with ease, permitting us to see firsthand the assembly of galaxies from the inside out.”.
This is an image of the El Gordo galaxy cluster with compass arrows, scale bar and color secret. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. This image reveals unnoticeable near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors.
The Thin One.
Another popular function in the Webb image is a long, pencil-thin line at left of. Called “La Flaca” (the Thin One), it is another lensed background galaxy whose light likewise took nearly 11 billion years to reach Earth.
Not far from La Flaca is another lensed galaxy. When the scientists took a look at that galaxy closely, they found 3 images of a single red giant star that they nicknamed Quyllur, which is the Quechua term for star.
Previously, Hubble has actually found other lensed stars (such as Earendel), but they were all blue supergiants. Quyllur is the first private red giant star observed beyond 1 billion light-years from Earth. Such stars at high redshift are only detectable using the infrared filters and level of sensitivity of Webb.
” Its practically impossible to see lensed red giant stars unless you go into the infrared. This is the very first one weve discovered with Webb, however we expect there will be a lot more to come,” stated Jose Diego of the Instituto de Física de Cantabria in Spain, lead author of a third paper [3] on El Gordo.
Galaxy Group and Smudges.
Other objects within the Webb image, while less prominent, are equally intriguing clinically. For instance, Frye and her group (that includes nine students from high school to finish students) recognized 5 multiply lensed galaxies that appear to be an infant galaxy cluster forming about 12.1 billion years back. There are another dozen prospect galaxies that might also be part of this remote cluster.
” While additional data are needed to confirm that there are 17 members of this cluster, we might be witnessing a new galaxy cluster forming right before our eyes, just over a billion years after the big bang,” said Frye.
As their name recommends, these objects, which are scattered throughout the El Gordo cluster, have their stars commonly spread out throughout area. The group determined some of the most far-off ultra-diffuse galaxies ever observed, whose light traveled 7.2 billion years to reach us.
” We analyzed whether the homes of these galaxies are any various than the ultra-diffuse galaxies we see in the regional universe, and we do in fact see some distinctions. In particular, they are bluer, younger, more prolonged, and more uniformly dispersed throughout the cluster. This suggests that residing in the cluster environment for the previous 6 billion years has had a significant impact on these galaxies,” described Timothy Carleton of Arizona State University, lead author on the fourth paper.
” Gravitational lensing was anticipated by Albert Einstein more than 100 years earlier. In the El Gordo cluster, we see the power of gravitational lensing in action,” concluded Rogier Windhorst of Arizona State University, primary private investigator of the PEARLS program. “The PEARLS images of El Gordo are out-of-this-world stunning. And, they have shown us how Webb can open Einsteins treasure chest.”.
The paper by Frye et al. has actually been published in The Astrophysical Journal. The paper by Kamieneski et al. has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
Referrals:.

” The JWST PEARLS View of the El Gordo Galaxy Cluster and of the Structure It Magnifies” by Brenda L. Frye, Massimo Pascale, Nicholas Foo, Reagen Leimbach, Nikhil Garuda, Paulina Soto Robles, Jake Summers, Carlos Diaz, Patrick Kamieneski, Lukas J. Furtak, Seth H. Cohen, Jose Diego, Benjamin Beauchesne, Rogier A. Windhorst, S. P. Willner, Anton M. Koekemoer, Adi Zitrin, Gabriel Caminha, Karina I. Caputi, Dan Coe, Christopher J. Conselice, Liang Dai, Hervé Dole, Simon P. Driver, Norman A. Grogin, Kevin Harrington, Rolf A. Jansen, Jean-Paul Kneib, Matt Lehnert, James Lowenthal, Madeline A. Marshall, Felipe Menanteau, Belén Alcalde Pampliega, Nor Pirzkal, Mari Polletta, Johan Richard, Aaron Robotham, Russell E. Ryan Jr., Michael J. Rutkowski, Christóbal Sifón, Scott Tompkins, Daniel Wang, Haojing Yan and Min S. Yun, 19 July 2023, The Astrophysical Journal.DOI: 10.3847/ 1538-4357/ acd929.
” Are JWST/NIRCam color gradients in the lensed z= 2.3 dusty star-forming galaxy El Anzuelo due to main dust attenuation or inside-out galaxy growth?” by Patrick S. Kamieneski, Brenda L. Frye, Massimo Pascale, Seth H. Cohen, Rogier A. Windhorst, Rolf A. Jansen, Min S. Yun, Cheng Cheng, Jake S. Summers, Timothy Carleton, Kevin C. Harrington, Jose M. Diego, Haojing Yan, Anton M. Koekemoer, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Andreea Petric, Lukas J. Furtak, Nicholas Foo, Christopher J. Conselice, Dan Coe, Simon P. Driver, Norman A. Grogin, Madeline A. Marshall, Nor Pirzkal, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Russell E. Ryan Jr. and Scott Tompkins, Accepted, The Astrophysical Journal.arXiv:2303.05054 v2.
” JWSTs PEARLS: A brand-new lens model for ACT-CL J0102 − 4915, “El Gordo,” and the very first red supergiant star at cosmological distances discovered by JWST” by J. M. Diego, A. K. Meena, N. J. Adams, T. Broadhurst, L. Dai, D. Coe, B. Frye, P. Kelly, A. M. Koekemoer, M. Pascale, S. P. Willner, E. Zackrisson, A. Zitrin, R. A. Windhorst, S. H. Cohen, R. A. Jansen, J. Summers, S. Tompkins, C. J. Conselice, S. P. Driver, H. Yan, N. Grogin, M. A. Marshall, N. Pirzkal, A. Robotham, R. E. Ryan Jr., C. N. A. Willmer, L. D. Bradley, G. Caminha, K. Caputi, T. Carleton and P. Kamieneski, 23 March 2023, Astronomy & & Astrophysics.DOI: 10.1051/ 0004-6361/2022 45238.
” PEARLS: Low Stellar Density Galaxies in the El Gordo Cluster Observed with JWST” by Timothy Carleton, Seth H. Cohen, Brenda L. Frye, Alex Pigarelli, Jiashuo Zhang, Rogier A. Windhorst, Jose M. Diego, Christopher J. Conselice, Cheng Cheng, Simon P. Driver, Nicholas Foo, Rachana A. Bhatawdekar, Patrick Kamieneski, Rolf A. Jansen, Haojing Yan, Jake Summers, Aaron S. G. Robotham, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Anton M. Koekemoer, Scott Tompkins, Dan Coe, Norman A. Grogin, Madeline A. Marshall, Mario Nonino, Nor Pirzka and Russell E. Ryan Jr., 4 August 2023, The Astrophysical Journal.DOI: 10.3847/ 1538-4357/ ace343.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the worlds premier space science observatory. Webb is resolving secrets in our planetary system, looking beyond to far-off worlds around other stars, and probing the strange structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

Webbs infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (” the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of detail. Webbs infrared image of El Gordo displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies. Webbs infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (” the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of information. Frye and her team (which includes 9 trainees from high school to graduate trainees) recognized five multiply lensed galaxies that appear to be an infant galaxy cluster forming about 12.1 billion years back.” We analyzed whether the properties of these galaxies are any different than the ultra-diffuse galaxies we see in the regional universe, and we do in fact see some distinctions.

Webbs infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (” the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of information. El Gordo acts as a gravitational lens, amplifying the light and distorting from far-off background galaxies.
A brand-new image exposes galaxy groups, smudges, and dusty far-off objects.
The Fishhook. The Thin One. These are just two of the striking targets exposed in new information by NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. In July 2022 Webb observed El Gordo, a galaxy cluster that existed 6.2 billion years after the big bang. It was chosen as the most massive galaxy cluster understood at that time in cosmic history.
Galaxy clusters are the heavyweights of astronomy. They have the power to magnify and flex light from more remote things, a phenomenon called gravitational lensing that was predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years back. Webbs infrared picture of El Gordo displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies. It also has actually sustained several brand-new clinical discoveries.
Webbs infrared image of the galaxy cluster El Gordo (” the Fat One”) reveals hundreds of galaxies, some never before seen at this level of information. El Gordo acts as a gravitational lens, distorting and magnifying the light from remote background galaxies.
Webb Space Telescope Spotlights Gravitational Arcs in El Gordo Galaxy Cluster.
A recently recorded picture of the galaxy cluster, famously called “El Gordo,” is exposing never-before-seen remote and dusty celestial things, thus offering new clinical discoveries. The infrared image, snapped by NASAs James Webb Space Telescope, showcases a plethora of distinct, twisted background galaxies that were just partially hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images.