James Webb telescope produces an unparalleled view of the ghostly light in galaxy clusters

In clusters of galaxies there’s a fraction of stars which get lost into intergalactic space as a result of they’re pulled out by big tidal forces generated between the galaxies within the cluster. The sunshine emitted by these stars is known as the intracluster mild (ICL) and is extraordinarily faint. Its brightness is lower than 1% of the brightness of the darkest sky we are able to observe from Earth. That is one purpose why pictures taken from space are very valueable for analyzing it.

Infrared wavelengths permit us to discover clusters of galaxies otherwise than with seen mild. Because of its effectivity at infrared wavelengths and the sharpness of the photographs of the JWST, IAC researchers Mireia Montes and Ignacio Trujillo have been capable of discover the intracluster mild from SMACS-J0723.3-7327 with an unprecedented stage of element. In reality the photographs from the JWST of the middle of this cluster are twice as deep because the earlier pictures obtained by the Hubble Area Telescope.

“On this research we present the nice potential of JWST for observing an object which is so faint,” explains Mireia Montes, the primary creator of the article. “This can allow us to research galaxy clusters that are a lot additional away, and in a lot better element,” she provides.

With a purpose to analyze this extraordinarily faint “ghostly” mild, in addition to needing the observational functionality of the brand new space telescoope, the researchers have developed new evaluation methods, which enhance on present strategies. “On this work we would have liked to do some further processing to the JWST pictures to have the ability to research the intracluster mild, as it’s a faint and prolonged construction. That was key to keep away from biases in our measurements,” says Mireia.

Because of the information obtained the researchers have been capable of show the potential of the intracluster mild for learning and understanding the processes which go into the formation of buildings as large as clusters of galaxies. “Analyzing this diffuse mild we discover that the internal elements of the cluster are being shaped by a merger of large galaxies, whereas the outer elements are as a result of accretion of galaxies much like our Milky Way,” she notes.

However these observations not solely provide clues in regards to the formation of galaxy clusters, but additionally in regards to the properties of a mysterious part of our universe: dark matter. The celebrities which emit the intracluster mild comply with the gravitational subject of the cluster, which makes this mild a superb tracer of the distribution of the dark matter in these buildings.

“The JWST will allow us to characterize the distribution of the dark matter in these huge buildings with unprecedented precision, and throw mild on its primary nature,” concludes Ignacio Trujillo, the second creator of the article.

The paper is revealed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.