This is the first direct discovery by humans of the most distant neutral hydrogen galaxy group ever reached to date.
The research results related to this discovery were published online in the international scholarly journal “Astrophysical Information Journal” on May 10.
Xinhua News Agency reported that in this study, the ultra-deep field survey project led by researcher Peng Bo from the National Astronomical Observatory of China maximized the high sensitivity of the “Sky Eye” telescope and the wide field of view of its 19-beam receiver to conduct in-depth “random search” research for distant and faint neutral hydrogen galaxies, discovering six neutral hydrogen galaxies approximately 5 billion light-years away from Earth.
Chinese Radio Telescope ‘Sky Eye’ (FAST). (Photo: Xinhua)
According to the report, hydrogen is the earliest element formed in the universe and commonly exists in the form of neutral hydrogen. Neutral hydrogen is prevalent throughout different epochs of the universe and is one of the best tools for tracking the distribution of matter at various levels. The discovery and study of neutral hydrogen are significant for understanding the properties of dark matter and dark energy, as well as explaining the formation and evolution processes of galaxies. Previously, “Sky Eye” had discovered over 40,000 samples of neutral hydrogen galaxies.
Researcher Peng Bo stated that the research team collaborated with various research groups both inside and outside China, comprehensively utilizing multi-band observational data from multiple telescopes, successfully identifying the optical counterpart objects of these six neutral hydrogen galaxies. “Sky Eye” has provided a new pathway for detecting distant neutral hydrogen galaxies.
The research team also estimated the density of neutral hydrogen galaxies, with one of the six neutral hydrogen galaxies having the largest neutral hydrogen mass discovered to date, while noting that as “Sky Eye” makes more discoveries in the field of neutral hydrogen, there is hope for uncovering more mysteries of the universe.
