若い銀河が急速に成長する様子を観測(Young Galaxies Grow Up Fast)

2026-01-06 カリフォルニア工科大学(Caltech)

カリフォルニア工科大学の研究者らは、初期宇宙に存在した若い銀河が想定以上に急速に成長していたことを明らかにした。最新の高感度観測データを解析した結果、ビッグバンから比較的短期間のうちに、恒星形成が活発化し、質量の大きな成熟した銀河へと進化していた例が多数確認された。従来モデルでは、銀河は長い時間をかけて徐々に成長すると考えられていたが、本研究は、ガスの急速な流入や高効率な星形成、銀河合体などが初期段階から強く作用していた可能性を示している。これにより、宇宙初期の銀河進化像やダークマターとの関係、宇宙再電離期における銀河の役割について、理論の見直しが迫られている。本成果は、初期宇宙の構造形成を理解する上で重要な知見を提供する。

若い銀河が急速に成長する様子を観測(Young Galaxies Grow Up Fast)
The 18 galaxies from the ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST survey. Each picture shows the location of ionized gas (as traced by the hydrogen alpha line, the spectral signature of hot hydrogen gas) in the galaxies. Several of the pictured galaxies are interacting, meaning two or even three galaxies are in the process of merging.Credit: Andreas Faisst (Caltech) and the ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST Survey team

<関連情報>

ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWSTサーベイ:Z = 4~6における18個の主系列銀河のJWST/IFU光学観測 The ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST Survey: JWST/IFU Optical Observations for 18 Main-sequence Galaxies at z = 4–6

A. L. Faisst, S. Fujimoto, A. Tsujita, W. Wang, N. Nezhad, F. Loiacono, H. Übler, M. Béthermin, P. Cassata, M. Dessauges-Zavadsky,…
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement  Published: 2026 January 6
DOI:10.3847/1538-4365/ae0928

Abstract

To fully characterize the formation and evolution of galaxies, we need to observe their stars, gas, and dust on resolved spatial scales. We present the ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST survey, which combines kiloparsec-resolved imaging and spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array for 18 representative main-sequence galaxies at z = 4–6 and log(M*/M⦿)>9.5 to study their star formation, chemical properties, and extended gas reservoirs. The cospatial measurements resolving the ionized gas, molecular gas, stars, and dust on 1–2 kpc scales make this a unique benchmark sample for the study of galaxy formation and evolution at z ∼ 5, connecting the Epoch of Reionization with the cosmic noon. In this paper, we outline the survey goals and sample selection, and present a summary of the available data for the 18 galaxies. In addition, we measure spatially integrated quantities (such as global gas metallicity), test different star formation rate indicators, and quantify the presence of Hα halos. Our targeted galaxies are relatively metal rich (10%–70% solar), complementary to JWST samples at lower stellar mass, and there is broad agreement between different star formation indicators. One galaxy has the signature of an active galactic nuclei (AGN) based on its emission-line ratios. Six show broad Hα emission suggesting type 1 AGN candidates. We conclude with an outlook on the exciting science that will be pursued with this unique sample in forthcoming papers.

1701物理及び化学
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