A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found a possible explanation for Hubble’s tension, as well as the large number of bright galaxies that formed in the young universe. The results of a new study suggest that early dark energy may be a missing piece of the cosmic puzzle.

The number of galaxies formed in the early universe and discovered using the James Webb Space Telescope has surprised astrophysicists. The fact is that their number significantly exceeds the predictions of the Standard Cosmological Model (ΛCDM), and their brightness and mass question the current understanding of galaxy formation.

The authors of the study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Proposed a new explanation for the observed galaxies by invoking the Early Dark Energy (EDE) model. Originally developed to solve the Hubble tension problem (inconsistencies in measurements of the expansion rate of the universe), the model could explain unexpected observations from the James Webb Observatory.

Recall that early dark energy is a type of energy that could have affected the expansion rate of the universe shortly after the Big Bang. By incorporating the early dark energy model into their calculations, the researchers assessed the impact of a temporary dark energy burst on the formation of dark matter halos. As scientists put it, these halos are the cosmic framework on which galaxies are built.

“First, dark matter structures form, and then galaxies form inside them. The number of bright galaxies should therefore be proportional to the number of large dark matter halos. The results show that early dark energy increased the size and brightness of galaxies during the birth of the universe,” the authors of the scientific paper explained.

The results of the study also show that shortly after the Big Bang, all objects in the universe increased in number and clustered.

Further observations of James Webb will be critical to testing the model developed by MIT astrophysicists, as they will help determine whether the observed discrepancies are the result of new physical processes in the galaxies or indicate a need to revise the Standard Cosmological Model.