Milky Way’s ‘Fountain of Youth’ Contains Star Clusters That Should Not Exist, Challenges Stellar Formation Theories

At the center of the Milky Way galaxy lies a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), characterized by strong radiation and gravitational forces. The James Webb Space Telescope and other galactic surveys have confirmed that a star cluster near this black hole gives birth to new stars where they should not exist.

What is IRS13?

IRS13 is a high stellar density made of hot, massive stars. It can be divided into the northern and eastern counterparts known as IRS 13N and IRS 13E, respectively.

This star cluster was initially modeled as a binary system and was later discovered to have an intense emission line spectrum. High-resolution infrared imaging and spectroscopy identified 19 objects in this cluster, 15 of which are dense gaseous regions and four stars.

Based on astronomical observations, IRS13 seems to resist the gravitational and disruptive influence of Sgr A*. Its star components are possibly the remains of a globular cluster where a middleweight black hole developed through runaway star collisions. Another theory is that it could be a dark star cluster formed in the inner galaxy where the evaporation rate of stars is faster due to a strong tidal field that depleted the black hole content through ejections.

Stellar Fountain of Youth

Astronomers have spotted a star cluster around Sgr A*, which was found to hold a surprisingly high number of young stars and regions of ice water. International researchers led by Florian Peißker from the University of Cologne Institute of Astrophysics discovered the stellar 'fountain of youth.'

The cluster named IRS13 was first identified 20 years ago, but experts found it difficult to assess the age of its stellar components. Over the years, Peißker and his colleagues used a wide range of telescopes and finally found that the stars in IRS13 were much younger than expected.

It was confirmed that the stars in IRS13 are around 100,000 years old, which is extremely young in cosmic terms. Our "middle-aged" Sun is about 4.6 billion years old, which means it is 46,000 times older than the stars of IRS13.

The discovery of such abundant, youthful stellar bodies at the center of our galaxy surprises astronomers. It was previously thought that high-energy radiation and immense tidal forces generated by gravity in the middle of the Milky Way would disrupt star formation. The central region, with a mass of 4.3 million Suns, was believed to prevent young stars from gathering around Sgr A* and near the galactic center.

The unusually young stars in IRS13 include massive and hot Wolf-Rayet stars. The experts speculate that these stars originated elsewhere and were dragged towards Sgr A*, causing a second round of star formation. The research team also identified the components of IRS13 and discovered water ice in the galactic center, typically found in dusty disks around young stars.

The result of the study not only provides new insights into stellar formation near supermassive black holes but also helps astronomers understand similar phenomena in other galaxies. The presence of young stars near the black hole prompts questions about the link between proximity to black holes and star formation.