This ancient quasar may be the remains of the first-gen star that started us all
(2022/11/09)
- Reference: 1667979310
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/11/09/quasar_star_big_bang/
- Source link:
Scientists taking a look at the second-most distant observed quasar believe it's actually the remnants of one of the universe's earliest stars – the so-called Population III stars that seeded the early universe with material that eventually formed life.
Working with the National Science Foundation's Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, the team found evidence using a new method of estimating the various elements detected in [1]near-infrared spectrographs . The trace gases surrounding quasar ULAS J1342+0928 have an odd magnesium-to-iron ratio, [2]the team said , that could only be the result of one of the universe's earliest stars going supernova, according to current theory.
If the methodology is correct, the team appears to have discovered a better way to search for distant first-generation stars and their remnants, as well as providing clues that could help "explain how matter in the universe evolved into what it is today, including humans," the NSF said.
In the beginning, there was no heavy metal
According to the Big Bang Theory of cosmology, [3]there wasn't much around in the moments after the universe came into being – only hydrogen, helium and lithium emerged in the immediate aftermath of the origin of everything.
Elements heavier than helium probably weren't created until stars formed around 100 million years after the Big Bang. Then some more waiting, as it wasn't until those stars collapsed and went supernova that the heavy elements created in their cores were ejected into the void to further complicate the universe.
[4]
Thus, the earliest stars – known as [5]Population III – were likely composed of just hydrogen and helium. And they were gigantic – some of them hundreds of times larger than our Sun. However, they also burnt out much more quickly.
[6]
[7]
But Pop III stars are purely theoretical, having never been observed – their mass means they would have collapsed into black holes and quasars long ago. Quasars just like ULAS J1342.
Recent [8]advances in cosmological simulations have led to attempts to predict the observability of Pop III star remnants, and ULAS J1342 is considered a strong contender, the research team argued in [9]their paper .
[10]I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Black hole quasar tsunamis moving at 46 million miles per hour
[11]I've seen things you people wouldn't believe – because we used astrometry: A Saturn-like world hugging its star
[12]Don't beat yourself up for overeating in lockdown. This black hole scoffs equivalent of our Sun every day
[13]It's over 9,000! Boffin-baffling microquasar has power that makes the LHC look like a kid's toy
Because Pop IIIs had to create the heavy metals they eject, the gas clouds surrounding their remnants should let distinct wavelengths of light through. Based on their observations, the team believes the second-most distantly observed quasar to have been a Pop III star that once had a mass 280 times greater than the Sun, and was likely formed right around [14]100 million years after the Big Bang – or roughly 13.6 billion years ago.
This isn't a final verdict on the existence of Pop III stars, though – the team even included the word "potential" in the paper's title. To see if the data holds up, the NSF said, a lot more observations will be required to see if similar characteristics exist in other stellar objects.
[15]
Still, said paper co-author and University of Notre Dame astronomer Timothy Beers, "we now know what to look for." The team's research opens a pathway, Beers said, toward better understanding where our star stuff may have got its start. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/12/jwst_first_image/
[2] https://beta.nsf.gov/news/potential-first-traces-universes-earliest-stars#hero-credit-caption
[3] https://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~mwhite/darkmatter/bbn.html
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/p/Population+III
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://kipac.stanford.edu/highlights/population-iii-stars-universes-ultimate-reclusive-pop-stars#:~:text=They%20provide%20a%20significant%20fraction,the%20history%20of%20the%20universe.&text=This%20is%20a%20particularly%20exciting,stars%20and%20the%20first%20galaxies.
[9] https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.11909
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/03/21/quasar_tsunamis/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/04/astrometry_planet_discovery/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/03/gluttonous_quasar_j2157/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/05/microquasar_black_holes/
[14] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-first-stars-in-the-un/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Working with the National Science Foundation's Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, the team found evidence using a new method of estimating the various elements detected in [1]near-infrared spectrographs . The trace gases surrounding quasar ULAS J1342+0928 have an odd magnesium-to-iron ratio, [2]the team said , that could only be the result of one of the universe's earliest stars going supernova, according to current theory.
If the methodology is correct, the team appears to have discovered a better way to search for distant first-generation stars and their remnants, as well as providing clues that could help "explain how matter in the universe evolved into what it is today, including humans," the NSF said.
In the beginning, there was no heavy metal
According to the Big Bang Theory of cosmology, [3]there wasn't much around in the moments after the universe came into being – only hydrogen, helium and lithium emerged in the immediate aftermath of the origin of everything.
Elements heavier than helium probably weren't created until stars formed around 100 million years after the Big Bang. Then some more waiting, as it wasn't until those stars collapsed and went supernova that the heavy elements created in their cores were ejected into the void to further complicate the universe.
[4]
Thus, the earliest stars – known as [5]Population III – were likely composed of just hydrogen and helium. And they were gigantic – some of them hundreds of times larger than our Sun. However, they also burnt out much more quickly.
[6]
[7]
But Pop III stars are purely theoretical, having never been observed – their mass means they would have collapsed into black holes and quasars long ago. Quasars just like ULAS J1342.
Recent [8]advances in cosmological simulations have led to attempts to predict the observability of Pop III star remnants, and ULAS J1342 is considered a strong contender, the research team argued in [9]their paper .
[10]I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Black hole quasar tsunamis moving at 46 million miles per hour
[11]I've seen things you people wouldn't believe – because we used astrometry: A Saturn-like world hugging its star
[12]Don't beat yourself up for overeating in lockdown. This black hole scoffs equivalent of our Sun every day
[13]It's over 9,000! Boffin-baffling microquasar has power that makes the LHC look like a kid's toy
Because Pop IIIs had to create the heavy metals they eject, the gas clouds surrounding their remnants should let distinct wavelengths of light through. Based on their observations, the team believes the second-most distantly observed quasar to have been a Pop III star that once had a mass 280 times greater than the Sun, and was likely formed right around [14]100 million years after the Big Bang – or roughly 13.6 billion years ago.
This isn't a final verdict on the existence of Pop III stars, though – the team even included the word "potential" in the paper's title. To see if the data holds up, the NSF said, a lot more observations will be required to see if similar characteristics exist in other stellar objects.
[15]
Still, said paper co-author and University of Notre Dame astronomer Timothy Beers, "we now know what to look for." The team's research opens a pathway, Beers said, toward better understanding where our star stuff may have got its start. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/12/jwst_first_image/
[2] https://beta.nsf.gov/news/potential-first-traces-universes-earliest-stars#hero-credit-caption
[3] https://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~mwhite/darkmatter/bbn.html
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/p/Population+III
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://kipac.stanford.edu/highlights/population-iii-stars-universes-ultimate-reclusive-pop-stars#:~:text=They%20provide%20a%20significant%20fraction,the%20history%20of%20the%20universe.&text=This%20is%20a%20particularly%20exciting,stars%20and%20the%20first%20galaxies.
[9] https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.11909
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/03/21/quasar_tsunamis/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/04/astrometry_planet_discovery/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/03/gluttonous_quasar_j2157/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/05/microquasar_black_holes/
[14] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-first-stars-in-the-un/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2uIYA5vADMTgWfCL-gtRQAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
As Douglas Adams said
Francis Boyle
The main problem with time travel (and this applies to looking back in time) is not the risk of accidently becoming your own grandfather but getting the language right.
Re: "the so-called Population III stars"
jake
"Why do they do things backwards here ?"
Because you are looking at an old issue from a modern, orthogonal perspective.
When this particular classification system was invented, there were only two "populations". All we really knew was that one population was yellower, and closer to the galactic center, and the other bluer and tended to live in globular clusters. Seeing as we live near a yellower one, obviously that was the most important (or so the thinking of the time went), so that group became Pop. I, leaving Pop. II for the other ones. It wasn't until later that we postulated the Pop. III group.
If Astronomers ever learn to count properly, they may rename it Pop. 0 ...
Re: "the so-called Population III stars"
Roj Blake
If you think that's weird, wait until you hear about astronomers classifying any atom that's not hydrogen or helium as a metal...
KittenHuffer
First post! ..... I mean star!
"the so-called Population III stars"
Why do they do things backwards here ?
If it's one of the earliest stars, it should be a Population I star and our Sun should be part of the Population III category.