Lund University in Sweden utilized a supercomputer simulation to follow the development of a galaxy over 13.8 billion years. The research shows how interstellar frontal collisions convert young and chaotic galaxies into spiral galaxies like the Milky Way over time.
The cosmos was an anarchic place just after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. Galaxies collided all the time. Stars developed at an incredible rate inside massive gas clouds. After a few billion years of cosmic turbulence, the chaotic, embryonic galaxies grew more stable and evolved into well-ordered spiral galaxies. The precise path of these events has long been a mystery to the world’s astronomers. Researchers were able to give some clarification on the subject in a new paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
“We used a supercomputer to build a high-resolution simulation that provides a comprehensive view of a galaxy’s history since the Big Bang, as well as how early chaotic galaxies develop into well-ordered spirals,” Oscar Agertz, an astronomy researcher at Lund University, says.
The scientists, lead by Oscar Agertz and Florent Renaud, utilize the Milky Way’s stars as a starting point for their research. The stars serve as time capsules, revealing details about distant epochs and the environments in which they evolved. Their locations, speeds, and quantities of various chemical components can thus help us comprehend how our own galaxy originated, with the help of computer models.
“We observed that when two big galaxies collide, massive inflows of star-forming gas can build a new disc around the old one. Our simulation reveals that the old and new discs gradually fused over billions of years. This resulted not just in a stable spiral galaxy, but also in star populations comparable to those found in the Milky Way “Florent Renaud, an astronomy researcher at Lund University, agrees.
The new results will aid astronomers in interpreting current and future Milky Way maps.
The result indicates to a new research area in which the primary focus will be on the connection between massive galaxy collisions and the formation of spiral galaxies’ discs. The Lund research team has already begun fresh supercomputer simulations in collaboration with the PRACE research facility (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe).
“With the current study and our new computer models, we will generate a lot of knowledge, which means we will be able to better grasp the Milky Way’s fascinating existence from the beginning of the universe,” Oscar Agertz concludes.
