The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a group of massive galaxies, located about 11 billion light-years away, that have halted their growth due to the influence of supermassive black holes.
Galaxy clusters, often referred to as the “big cities” of the universe, are populated by giant elliptical galaxies that have stopped forming stars and completed their growth. Despite extensive research, the exact mechanism behind this shutdown of star formation remains uncertain. In a groundbreaking study, researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to examine a precursor to modern galaxy clusters. Their observations highlight the role of supermassive black holes in suppressing star formation, enabling these galaxies to evolve into the massive elliptical structures seen in today’s universe.
Investigating Galaxy Clusters with JWST
Understanding how galaxies form and grow is a key focus in astrophysics. In dense regions of the universe, such as galaxy clusters, giant elliptical galaxies dominate. These massive, ancient galaxies are made up of older stars. While scientists continue to debate how these galaxies stop forming new stars, one leading theory suggests that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) play a critical role. By emitting intense energy, SMBHs can suppress the supply of gas needed for star formation, potentially leading to the development of the giant elliptical galaxies we observe today.
To explore this idea, an international team of researchers studied massive galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster, a galaxy cluster located 11 billion light-years away (Figure 1). Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the team examined these distant galaxies in unprecedented detail. Led by Associate Professor Rhythm Shimakawa from Waseda University, Japan, the team included Dr. Yusei Koyama from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Prof. Tadayuki Kodama from Tohoku University, Japan, Dr. Helmut Dannerbauer, and Dr. J. M. Perez-Martinez from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and Universidad de La Laguna, Spain, among others.
Their findings were published on December 18, 2024, in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
Findings on SMBHs and Galaxy Evolution
The team succeeded in obtaining high-resolution maps of the recombination lines of hydrogen, which indicate the activity of star formation and SMBHs, through the Near-Infrared Camera mounted on JWST. Detailed analysis showed that massive galaxies with active SMBHs exhibit no sign of star formation, meaning that their growth is severely hampered by SMBHs (Figure 3). The results support the theoretical prediction that the formation of giant elliptical galaxies is linked with SMBH activity in the past.
Insights from Long-Term Astronomical Studies
“The Spiderweb protocluster has been studied by our team for more than 10 years using the Subaru Telescope and other facilities. With the new JWST data, we are now able to ‘answer the questions’ of understanding and predicting galaxy formation that we have accumulated,” remarks Dr. Shimakawa. He adds further, “This study marks a significant step forward in expanding our understanding of the co-evolution of SMBHs and galaxies in celestial cities.”
Reference: “Spider-Webb: JWST Near Infrared Camera resolved galaxy star formation and nuclear activities in the Spiderweb protocluster at z = 2.16” by Rhythm Shimakawa, Yusei Koyama, Tadayuki Kodama, Helmut Dannerbauer, J M Pérez-Martínez, Huub J A Röttgering, Ichi Tanaka, Chiara D’Eugenio, Abdurrahman Naufal, Kazuki Daikuhara and Yuheng Zhang, 18 December 2024, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slae098
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