Astronomers have identified one of the largest rotating structures ever observed, located 140 million light-years from Earth. It is a massive, spinning cosmic filament containing an incredibly razor-thin string of 14 galaxies rich in hydrogen. The filament is about 5.5 million light-years long and 117,000 light-years wide.
All these galaxies are connected to it in a chain, resembling charms strung together on a bracelet. An international team led by the University of Oxford published the findings on December 4 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
What makes this structure exceptional is not just its size, but the combination of spin alignment and rotational motion,” said Dr Lyla Jung, co-lead author from the Department of Physics. “You can liken it to the teacups ride at a theme park. Each galaxy is like a spinning teacup, but the whole platform- the cosmic filament -is rotating too. This dual motion gives us rare insight into how galaxies gain their spin from the larger structures they live in,” Jung added.
The structure could yield new insights into the mechanism of galaxy formation during the Universe s early stages. A figure illustrating the rotation of neutral hydrogen (right) in galaxies residing in an extended filament (middle), where the galaxies exhibit a coherent bulk rotational motion tracing the large-scale cosmic web (left).
Credit: Lyla Jung Spinning cosmic filament Cosmic filaments are the universe s scaffolding, vast threads of galaxies and dark matter that crisscross the cosmos. These structures serve as pathways, directing the flow of matter and momentum into galaxies. This new discovery was made possible by combining data from some of the world s most powerful observatories, including South Africa s MeerKAT radio telescope and optical observations from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).
These instruments observed a striking, synchronized alignment of galaxies at similar distances, all linked by the gaseous thread. Far from being random, the galaxies in the new filament exhibit a strong preference to spin in the same direction as their host structure. Based on filament dynamics models, the inferred rotation velocity is 68 miles per second (110 km/s). Moreover, the entire structure appears to be rotating (bulk rotation), with galaxies on either side of the filament s spine moving in opposite directions.
This challenges existing models of galaxy evolution, suggesting that these titanic cosmic structures might exert a more profound and lasting influence on galaxy rotation than previously thought. The filament appears to be a youthful, relatively undisturbed structure, still in its early stages of development. Its abundance of hydrogen gas, the fuel for star formation, and its dynamically cold state mean it s a pristine record of cosmic processes. This filament is a fossil record of cosmic flows.
It helps us piece together how galaxies acquire their spin and grow over time, said Dr Madalina Tudorache, co-lead author. New insight into galaxy formation Filaments that show overall rotation and contain galaxies spinning in the same direction are ideal subjects for studying how galaxies acquired their current spin and gas.
Hydrogen-rich galaxies are exceptional indicators of gas flow within cosmic filaments. Since atomic hydrogen is easily moved, its presence helps show how gas is directed through the filaments and into the galaxies. This process provides interesting clues about how angular momentum flows through the cosmic web, ultimately influencing a galaxy s shape (morphology), spin, and star-formation rate.
The study s findings offer crucial support for future cosmological work, specifically by helping model how galaxies are intrinsically aligned.
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