GeMS “SERVS” Up Sharp Views of Young Galaxies in Early Universe

A team of astronomers led by Dr. Mark Lacy (National Radio Astronomy Observatory, USA) used advanced adaptive optics on the Gemini South telescope in Chile to obtain high-resolution near-infrared images of three fields from the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS). Their sample includes several ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) which the Herschel Space Observatory found to be undergoing large bursts of star formation within the first few billion years of the Big Bang.

The high-resolution GeMS images reveal that the ULIRGs have messy, irregular structures indicating that they are the product of recent galactic interactions and mergers. Lacy explains, “The fact that the disturbed morphologies of these galaxies persist into the infrared suggests that their appearance is not dominated by clumpy extinction from dust, but reflects the irregular distribution of stellar light.” Dust is highly effective at obscuring ultraviolet and blue light, but effects red and infrared light less. “These GeMS observations help reveal the physical mechanisms by which massive galaxies evolve into the objects we see today,” added Lacy. See the full press release.