A dust-obscured massive maximum-starburst galaxy at a redshift of 6.34

Nature 496, 7445 (2013). doi:10.1038/nature12050

Authors: Dominik A. Riechers, C. M. Bradford, D. L. Clements, C. D. Dowell, I. Pérez-Fournon, R. J. Ivison, C. Bridge, A. Conley, Hai Fu, J. D. Vieira, J. Wardlow, J. Calanog, A. Cooray, P. Hurley, R. Neri, J. Kamenetzky, J. E. Aguirre, B. Altieri, V. Arumugam, D. J. Benford, M. Béthermin, J. Bock, D. Burgarella, A. Cabrera-Lavers, S. C. Chapman, P. Cox, J. S. Dunlop, L. Earle, D. Farrah, P. Ferrero, A. Franceschini, R. Gavazzi, J. Glenn, E. A. Gonzalez Solares, M. A. Gurwell, M. Halpern, E. Hatziminaoglou, A. Hyde, E. Ibar, A. Kovács, M. Krips, R. E. Lupu, P. R. Maloney, P. Martinez-Navajas, H. Matsuhara, E. J. Murphy, B. J. Naylor, H. T. Nguyen, S. J. Oliver, A. Omont, M. J. Page, G. Petitpas, N. Rangwala, I. G. Roseboom, D. Scott, A. J. Smith, J. G. Staguhn, A. Streblyanska, A. P. Thomson, I. Valtchanov, M. Viero, L. Wang, M. Zemcov & J. Zmuidzinas

Massive present-day early-type (elliptical and lenticular) galaxies probably gained the bulk of their stellar mass and heavy elements through intense, dust-enshrouded starbursts—that is, increased rates of star formation—in the most massive dark-matter haloes at early epochs. However, it remains unknown how soon after the Big Bang massive starburst progenitors exist. The measured redshift (z) distribution of dusty, massive starbursts has long been suspected to be biased low in z owing to selection effects, as confirmed by recent findings of systems with redshifts as high as ∼5 (refs 2–4). Here we report the identification of a massive starburst galaxy at z = 6.34 through a submillimetre colour-selection technique. We unambiguously determined the redshift from a suite of molecular and atomic fine-structure cooling lines. These measurements reveal a hundred billion solar masses of highly excited, chemically evolved interstellar medium in this galaxy, which constitutes at least 40 per cent of the baryonic mass. A ‘maximum starburst’ converts the gas into stars at a rate more than 2,000 times that of the Milky Way, a rate among the highest observed at any epoch. Despite the overall downturn in cosmic star formation towards the highest redshifts, it seems that environments mature enough to form the most massive, intense starbursts existed at least as early as 880 million years after the Big Bang.

Astronomy: A cosmic growth spurt in an infant galaxy

Nature 496, 7445 (2013). doi:10.1038/496303a

Authors: Desika Narayanan & Chris Carilli

One of the most extreme starburst galaxies in the early Universe has been identified and characterized. This system shows the rapid formation of a massive galaxy when the Universe was only 6% of its current age. See Letter p.329

The Thirty Meter Telescope – due to be the world's widest eye on space – has got the go-ahead for construction on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii    

(author unknown)

They are yet statistically weak, but results from an underground detector suggest dark matter is not a single entity but a whole sector of myriad particles    

(author unknown)

A rare celestial object called a blazar randomly flares up - flooding the sky with the Universe's highest-energy light - just after telescopes point to it.(author unknown)

Researchers using the airborne Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) have captured the most detailed mid-infrared images yet of a massive star condensing within a dense cocoon of dust and gas.(author unknown)

Is it Alpha Centauri Bb or Rakhat? A scientific society says a private bid to name exoplanets has no official footing, but the bid's organisers are striking back    

(author unknown)

Researchers at the American Physical Society meeting report three tentative clues in the long-running hunt for dark matter.(author unknown)

Digging deep in the search for life beyond Earth(author unknown)

Researchers unveil the first image from a new observatory in Mexico that can catch the highest-energy light ever seen on Earth.(author unknown)

A particle detector on board the International Space Station has recorded intriguing signs of Dark Matter. Researchers say that a significant advance in cosmology could be in the offing.(author unknown)

Lisa Grossman plumbs the depths of the Soudan Mine in Minnesota to see two rival detectors striving to find traces of WIMP dark matter    

(author unknown)

Up to two-thirds of planetary systems may have empty orbits where a world could sit happily, according to recent data from the Kepler space telescope    

(author unknown)

The universe could have a dark side, complete with dark-matter atoms, a dark force and a mirror version of our own galaxy    

(author unknown)

We report the discovery of additional 22 RV Tau stars located in the OGLE-II and OGLE-III fields toward the Galactic bulge, increasing to 357 objects the OGLE-III catalog of type II Cepheids in the Galactic center. Four of the newly detected RV Tau stars belong to the RVb class, i.e. they show large-amplitude, long-period modulation of the mean luminosity. In the updated catalog, the relative number of RV Tau stars in the whole sample of the Galactic bulge type II Cepheids is similar to the Magellanic Cloud samples.

I. Soszynski, A. Udalski, P. Pietrukowicz, M. K. Szymanski, M. Kubiak, G. Pietrzynski, L. Wyrzykowski, K. Ulaczyk, R. Poleski, S. Kozlowski

A new study based on data from ESA's Cluster mission has revealed the importance of bursty bulk flows (BBFs) - fast streams of plasma that are launched towards Earth during the magnetic substorms that give rise to bright aurorae. By modelling these fast plasma streams using a kinetic approach, scientists have discovered that earlier studies based on magnetohydrodynamics tended to underestimate their role in the energy transfer during magnetic substorms. The new, more accurate description suggests that BBFs can carry up to one third of the total energy transferred during a substorm; in such cases, BBFs represent a major contributor to the brightening of aurorae.(author unknown)

The iconic rings produce charged particles that rain down on the planet's atmosphere, where they carve out an imprint    

(author unknown)

This intriguing new picture from ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.(author unknown)

The domination of Saturn’s low-latitude ionosphere by ring ‘rain’

Nature 496, 7444 (2013). doi:10.1038/nature12049

Authors: J. O’Donoghue, T. S. Stallard, H. Melin, G. H. Jones, S. W. H. Cowley, S. Miller, K. H. Baines & J. S. D. Blake

Saturn’s ionosphere is produced when the otherwise neutral atmosphere is exposed to a flow of energetic charged particles or solar radiation. At low latitudes the solar radiation should result in a weak planet-wide glow in the infrared, corresponding to the planet’s uniform illumination by the Sun. The observed electron density of the low-latitude ionosphere, however, is lower and its temperature higher than predicted by models. A planet-to-ring magnetic connection has been previously suggested, in which an influx of water from the rings could explain the lower-than-expected electron densities in Saturn’s atmosphere. Here we report the detection of a pattern of features, extending across a broad latitude band from 25 to 60 degrees, that is superposed on the lower-latitude background glow, with peaks in emission that map along the planet’s magnetic field lines to gaps in Saturn’s rings. This pattern implies the transfer of charged species derived from water from the ring-plane to the ionosphere, an influx on a global scale, flooding between 30 to 43 per cent of the surface of Saturn’s upper atmosphere. This ring ‘rain’ is important in modulating ionospheric emissions and suppressing electron densities.

Solar system: Saturn's ring rain

Nature 496, 7444 (2013). doi:10.1038/496178a

Authors: Jack Connerney

Saturn's atmosphere bears a latent image of its icy rings, implying that electrically charged bits of water ice are being transported along magnetic-field lines of force from sources in the ring plane to the upper atmosphere. See Letter p.193