Bound star clusters observed in a lensed galaxy 460 Myr after the Big Bang

Angela Adamo (), Larry D. Bradley, Eros Vanzella, Adélaïde Claeyssens, Brian Welch, Jose M. Diego, Guillaume Mahler, Masamune Oguri, Keren Sharon, Abdurro’uf, Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao, Xinfeng Xu, Matteo Messa, Augusto E. Lassen, Erik Zackrisson, Gabriel Brammer, Dan Coe, Vasily Kokorev, Massimo Ricotti, Adi Zitrin, Seiji Fujimoto, Akio K. Inoue, Tom Resseguier, Jane R. Rigby, Yolanda Jiménez-Teja, Rogier A. Windhorst, Takuya Hashimoto and Yoichi Tamura
Additional contact information
Angela Adamo: Stockholm University and Oskar Klein Centre
Larry D. Bradley: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Eros Vanzella: INAF
Adélaïde Claeyssens: Stockholm University and Oskar Klein Centre
Brian Welch: University of Maryland
Jose M. Diego: CSIC-UC
Guillaume Mahler: STAR Institute
Masamune Oguri: Chiba University
Keren Sharon: University of Michigan
Abdurro’uf: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Xinfeng Xu: Northwestern University
Matteo Messa: INAF
Augusto E. Lassen: Stockholm University and Oskar Klein Centre
Erik Zackrisson: Uppsala University
Gabriel Brammer: Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)
Dan Coe: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Vasily Kokorev: University of Groningen
Massimo Ricotti: University of Maryland
Adi Zitrin: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Seiji Fujimoto: The University of Texas at Austin
Akio K. Inoue: Waseda University
Tom Resseguier: The Johns Hopkins University
Jane R. Rigby: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Yolanda Jiménez-Teja: (CSIC)
Rogier A. Windhorst: Arizona State University
Takuya Hashimoto: University of Tsukuba
Yoichi Tamura: Nagoya University

Nature, 2024, vol. 632, issue 8025, 513-516

Abstract: Abstract The Cosmic Gems arc is among the brightest and highly magnified galaxies observed at redshift z ≈ 10.2 (ref. 1). However, it is an intrinsically ultraviolet faint galaxy, in the range of those now thought to drive the reionization of the Universe2–4. Hitherto the smallest features resolved in a galaxy at a comparable redshift are between a few hundreds and a few tens of parsecs (pc)5,6. Here we report JWST observations of the Cosmic Gems. The light of the galaxy is resolved into five star clusters located in a region smaller than 70 pc. They exhibit minimal dust attenuation and low metallicity, ages younger than 50 Myr and intrinsic masses of about 106M⊙. Their lensing-corrected sizes are approximately 1 pc, resulting in stellar surface densities near 105M⊙ pc−2, three orders of magnitude higher than typical young star clusters in the local Universe7. Despite the uncertainties inherent to the lensing model, they are consistent with being gravitationally bound stellar systems, that is, proto-globular clusters. We conclude that star cluster formation and feedback likely contributed to shaping the properties of galaxies during the epoch of reionization.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07703-7

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