The Lyman-α emission line of hydrogen should be absorbed and thus not seen from galaxies in the early Universe — and yet it is observed. Now detailed images from JWST coupled with magnetohydrodynamical simulations show that interactions between galaxies are facilitating the escape of this radiation.
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This is a summary of: Witten, C. et al. Deciphering Lyman-α emission deep into the epoch of reionization. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02179-3 (2024).
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Galaxy mergers can explain the unexpected hydrogen emission in the early Universe. Nat Astron 8, 273–274 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02180-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02180-w