Leveraging the exceptionally high-resolution imagery obtained from the Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) aboard NASA, ESA, and CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has identified one of the most ancient barred spiral galaxies documented to date, significantly influencing our comprehension of cosmic development.
COSMOS-74706: an unsharp mask overlaid onto the F200W, F277W, and F356W filter composition; the white lines are logarithmic spirals fitted to points along the arm structures and a line segment fitted to the approximately North to South aligned bar structure. Image credit: Daniel Ivanov.
This newly documented barred spiral galaxy, designated COSMOS-74706, was in existence approximately 11.5 billion years prior to the present epoch.
“The formation of bars within these galaxies occurred just two billion years subsequent to the universe’s inception,” remarked Daniel Ivanov, a graduate student pursuing studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
“The distinctive characteristic of these celestial structures is explicitly stated in their designation: a stellar bar constitutes a rectilinear arrangement situated at the galactic core.”
Within COSMOS-74706, the bar is characterized by an elevated density of stars and gas, oriented in such a manner that when viewed perpendicularly to the galactic plane, a luminous line traversing the galaxy becomes apparent.
Stellar bars are understood to play a crucial role in modulating a galaxy’s evolutionary trajectory by facilitating the inward migration of gas from its peripheral regions. This influx of material can fuel the supermassive black hole at the nucleus and concurrently suppress star formation across the galactic disk.
While earlier instances of barred spiral galaxies have been reported by other researchers, the analytical conclusions drawn from those findings are less definitive. This is attributed to the analytical methodologies employed for discerning light redshifts, which are not as precise as spectroscopy; the latter was instrumental in confirming the nature of COSMOS-74706.
In certain prior observations, the light emitted by a galaxy had been subject to distortion due to its passage near a massive celestial object, a phenomenon recognized as gravitational lensing.
“Essentially, this represents the most distant, spectroscopically validated, and unlensed barred spiral galaxy,” Ivanov stated.
“I was not taken aback by the detection of a barred spiral galaxy at such an early stage of the universe’s evolution.”
“Indeed, certain simulation models predict the formation of bars at a redshift of 5, which corresponds to approximately 12.5 billion years ago.”
“However, theoretically speaking, this is not an era where one would anticipate encountering a substantial number of such entities.”
“This discovery serves to delineate the temporal parameters for bar formation. Moreover, it is inherently fascinating.”
Ivanov and his research associates disclosed their groundbreaking observation on January 8 during the 247th convening of the American Astronomical Society.
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Daniel Ivanov et al. 2026 An Unlensed Barred Spiral at zspec>3. AAS 247
