Cosmic noon is a significant time in the universe’s history as it shaped the galaxies we see today. However, many questions are still unanswered.
Why did star formation peak and then decline?
Why did some galaxies suddenly stop forming stars while others faded out gradually?
How vital were local influences like the number of galactic neighbors in shaping this evolution?
Astronomers need plenty of samples of galaxies from that period to research and answer these questions. Roman’s power will lie in its skill to apprehend thousands of specific objects in a single view. Through such an extensive survey, scientists won’t have to choose their preferred targets in advance.
“With a field of view 100 times wider than the Hubble Space Telescope, Roman can change the astronomical landscape by being so efficient,” explained Kate Whitaker, assistant professor of Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Whitaker’s research concentrates on studying the regulation of star construction and quenching in enormous galaxies in the early universe.
Roman’s vast area of view is supposed to enable astronomers to put specific galaxies into context by glimpsing how their growth spurts, and successive slow-downs, differ depending on their location within the cosmic “web”—the large-scale structure of the universe.
“You take one image, and you get everything. We’ll see what and where the interesting objects are,” announced Casey Papovich, professor of Astronomy at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Papovich’s research quantifies the growth and committee of stellar mass in galaxies in the early universe.
