An international research team utilized the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to investigate massive galaxies identified by the Subaru Telescope in the Spiderweb protocluster, a region of the early universe. The findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on December 18, 2024, affirm earlier observations suggesting that supermassive black hole activity can inhibit galaxy growth.
The evolution of galaxies remains a pivotal subject in modern astronomy, particularly regarding the origins of giant elliptical galaxies, which are composed entirely of old stars. A prevailing theory posits that supermassive black holes at the centers of these galaxies may influence star formation.
The Subaru Telescope had previously observed forming protoclusters of galaxies from 10 billion years ago, revealing a mix of galaxies actively forming stars and others transitioning into giant elliptical galaxies. Notably, nearly half of the galaxies in these regions were found to host supermassive black holes consuming matter, although the initial data lacked the resolution to clarify the connection between star formation and black hole activity.
With JWST's high-resolution imaging, the research team mapped massive galaxies within the Spiderweb protocluster. The results indicate that galaxies with active supermassive black holes have ceased new star formation, while those without such black holes continue to create new stars. This supports the hypothesis that black hole activity plays a critical role in regulating star formation.
Rhythm Shimakawa, lead author of the study, remarked, 'The Spiderweb protocluster has been studied by our team for more than 10 years using the Subaru Telescope and other facilities. With the new JWST data, we are now able to answer the questions of understanding and predicting galaxy formation that we have accumulated.'