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The onset of star formation 250 million years after the Big Bang

Author

Listed:
  • Takuya Hashimoto

    (Faculty of Design Technology, Osaka Sangyo University
    National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)

  • Nicolas Laporte

    (University College London
    IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES)

  • Ken Mawatari

    (Faculty of Design Technology, Osaka Sangyo University)

  • Richard S. Ellis

    (University College London)

  • Akio K. Inoue

    (Faculty of Design Technology, Osaka Sangyo University)

  • Erik Zackrisson

    (Uppsala University)

  • Guido Roberts-Borsani

    (University College London)

  • Wei Zheng

    (Johns Hopkins University)

  • Yoichi Tamura

    (Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University)

  • Franz E. Bauer

    (Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS)
    Space Science Institute)

  • Thomas Fletcher

    (University College London)

  • Yuichi Harikane

    (The University of Tokyo
    Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

  • Bunyo Hatsukade

    (The University of Tokyo)

  • Natsuki H. Hayatsu

    (Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
    European Southern Observatory)

  • Yuichi Matsuda

    (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
    School of Physical Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI))

  • Hiroshi Matsuo

    (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
    School of Physical Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI))

  • Takashi Okamoto

    (Graduates School of Science, Hokakido University)

  • Masami Ouchi

    (The University of Tokyo
    Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo)

  • Roser Pelló

    (IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES)

  • Claes-Erik Rydberg

    (Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik)

  • Ikkoh Shimizu

    (Osaka University)

  • Yoshiaki Taniguchi

    (The Open University of Japan)

  • Hideki Umehata

    (The University of Tokyo
    The Open University of Japan
    The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN))

  • Naoki Yoshida

    (Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
    Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo)

Abstract

A fundamental quest of modern astronomy is to locate the earliest galaxies and study how they influenced the intergalactic medium a few hundred million years after the Big Bang1–3. The abundance of star-forming galaxies is known to decline4,5 from redshifts of about 6 to 10, but a key question is the extent of star formation at even earlier times, corresponding to the period when the first galaxies might have emerged. Here we report spectroscopic observations of MACS1149-JD16, a gravitationally lensed galaxy observed when the Universe was less than four per cent of its present age. We detect an emission line of doubly ionized oxygen at a redshift of 9.1096 ± 0.0006, with an uncertainty of one standard deviation. This precisely determined redshift indicates that the red rest-frame optical colour arises from a dominant stellar component that formed about 250 million years after the Big Bang, corresponding to a redshift of about 15. Our results indicate that it may be possible to detect such early episodes of star formation in similar galaxies with future telescopes.

Suggested Citation

  • Takuya Hashimoto & Nicolas Laporte & Ken Mawatari & Richard S. Ellis & Akio K. Inoue & Erik Zackrisson & Guido Roberts-Borsani & Wei Zheng & Yoichi Tamura & Franz E. Bauer & Thomas Fletcher & Yuichi H, 2018. "The onset of star formation 250 million years after the Big Bang," Nature, Nature, vol. 557(7705), pages 392-395, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:557:y:2018:i:7705:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0117-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0117-z
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