Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the birth cry of a star in the Small Magellanic Cloud, Science Daily reported. They found that stars are born in a low-metal environment like the early universe. Moreso, they discovered a molecular outflow with similar properties in the Milky Way galaxy.
In the early universe, metal elements were lesser than in the present universe since there was not enough time to produce heavy elements in stars. Scientists have been studying the formation of stars in such an environment, and the recent ALMA discovery gives a new perspective on the birth of stars.
Detecting the 'Birth Cry of A Star' in the Small Magellanic Cloud
The Small Magellanic Cloud is the smaller irregular galaxy that makes up the Magellanic Clouds and is located some 200,000 light-years away. It is smaller than the Milky Way and lacks spiral arms, which makes it an irregular cloud of gas, dust, and stars.
Moreso, it lacks other heavier elements, like helium and the most common element, hydrogen. Scientists find it exciting and an excellent laboratory to study star formation mechanisms in the early universe before both elements could be found in abundance.
According to a news release from ALMA, elements heavier than helium are called heavy elements in astronomy. But for many years, it has been unclear how stars were born in a low-metal environment that is different from the present universe. In the research, they wrote that the first cry of a star in the Small Magellanic Cloud gives new insights into their birth.
The joint research by ALMA scientists observed a young star named Y246 in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile. They detected two jets of molecular gas flow that moved the young star at a speed of 33,000 mph (54,000 kph).
This phenomenon is called dipolar molecular flow, similar to stars' birth cry. The jets are known to slow the rotation of protesters in the current universe and power their growth. But it is unknown if such mechanisms apply to early stars.
Star Formation in Early Universe Remained Unchanged for the Past 10 Billion Years
All stars form in the same way. According to BBC, It starts with a cloud of dust and gas called a nebula that becomes a protostar or young star that then becomes a main sequence star. Then it develops in several ways depending on its size.
For example, a red giant star becomes a white dwarf and then a black dwarf, while stars with greater mass than the Sun, or red supergiant stars, undergo a supernova before becoming a neutron star or black hole.
Researchers of the new study wrote that although the findings of their study do not entirely confirm the mechanism that played a role in star formation during the early universe, it showed that stars form in a low metal environment even until today. That means that the way stars are born has remained similar for the past 10 billion years.
The team hopes that the findings of their study, titled "The First Detection of a Protostellar CO Outflow in the Small Magellanic Cloud with ALMA," which are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, could bring new perspectives to studying stars and planet formation.
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