New galaxy named after Manipur's Loktak lake
A galaxy cluster named after Manipur’s Loktak lake, discovered using the James Webb Space Telescope, dates back 12.5 billion years and offers new insights into early galaxy evolution. Researchers found protocluster galaxies were nearly 40% larger than those in less dense regions, suggesting environmental influences shaped them within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
A newly discovered galaxy cluster, named the Loktak Protocluster after Manipur’s Loktak lake, traces back to when the universe was just 1.2 billion years old. The finding, led by Dr Ronaldo Laishram and an international team using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), marks a breakthrough in studying early galaxy formation. The protocluster spans 65 × 36 comoving megaparsecs in the COSMOS field and contains four dense regions of young galaxies, with one peak holding 18 Lyman-alpha emitters in a 1.5-megaparsec radius. Researchers compared galaxies within the protocluster to those in less dense "field" environments, analyzing their sizes and stellar structures using JWST’s NIRCam imaging. They found protocluster galaxies had median effective radii of 0.81 kiloparsecs—nearly 40% larger than field galaxies at 0.58 kiloparsecs—though ultraviolet observations showed no significant size differences. This suggests dense environments influenced older stellar populations rather than new star formation. The study, published as part of the COSMOS-Web survey, is among the first to systematically compare protocluster and field galaxies at such an early cosmic epoch. Previous research lacked the infrared sensitivity of JWST, limiting evidence of environmental effects on galaxy morphology. The team proposes tidal interactions, mergers, or early star accumulation may explain the larger sizes, with effects strongest near the protocluster’s core. Support for the research came from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Subaru Telescope, operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Collaborators included institutions from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University. Future observations with JWST and Subaru’s PFS will explore whether similar environmental influences were widespread in the early universe.
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