Clusters of Monster Stars Outshone the Sun in Our Early Universe

Scientists have taken a closer look at the monstrous stars that formed in our early universe. Scientists have calculated what these early stars were like, and have found that they likely clustered together in phenomenally bright groups.

In this latest study, the researchers modelled how the luminosity of the stars would have changed as they formed from the gravitational collapse of disks of gas. The early evolution was most likely chaotic, with clumps of material forming and spiraling into the center of the disks. This likely created bursts of luminosity a hundred times bright than average. In fact, these first stars probably would have been at their brightest when they were protostars, which are baby stars that are still forming and pulling in material.

The scientists found that even in a small cluster of 10 to 20 protostars, the ongoing bursts would mean that the cluster would spend large periods with enhanced brightness. According to the simulation, every so often a cluster of just 16 protostars could see its luminosity increase by a factor of up to 1,000 to an extraordinary 100 million times the brightness of the sun.

"Seeing the very first stars is a key science goal for JWST and part of astronomers' quest to track the history of the cosmos," said Shantanu Basu, one of the researchers, in a news release. "If we're right, then in just a few years' time, we could see these enigmatic and dazzlingly bright objects as they came into being, and lit up the universe around them."

The new findings reveal a bit more about our early universe. It's likely that clusters of the first protostars could be prominent beacons in the early universe, which could give rise to further studies.

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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