Scientists have found an elusive gas from sleeping galaxies: he was hiding in plain sight

New data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) shows that galaxies

survived a burst of star formation, notdissipate all their star-forming fuel. It turns out that these dormant star clusters are holding and compressing large amounts of highly concentrated turbulent gas. But, contrary to expectations, they do not use it to form stars.

Galaxies after star formation (post-starburstgalaxies (PSB) are different from others because they are born from violent collisions or mergers between galaxies. Galactic mergers typically produce massive bursts of star formation, but in the PSB this burst slows down and almost completely stops almost immediately after it begins. Previously, scientists believed that their central star-forming factories had little or no fuel left. And until now it was believed that molecular gases were redistributed along radii far beyond the boundaries of galaxies, either as a result of stellar processes or after the impact of black holes. New results challenge this theory.

In a new study, scientists discovereda significant amount of gas remaining in the galaxies and it turned out to be very compact. Although it should be efficient at forming stars, it is not. “In fact, it is less than 10% more efficient than expected from the same compact gas,” explains Adam Smercyna, an astronomer at the University of Washington and the study’s principal investigator.

In addition to the fact that gas in the observed sleepers- or resting - galaxies was compact enough to form stars, scientists were in for another surprise. It was often in the center, although not always, and was surprisingly turbulent. Taken together, these two characteristics have given researchers more questions than answers.

Clear understanding of the processes governingthe formation of stars and galaxies is key to providing context for the universe and our place in it. The discovery of turbulent compact gas in dormant galaxies gives researchers another clue to the mystery of exactly how galaxies live, evolve and die over billions of years.

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