A research team led by Harley Katz from the University of Chicago has completed the Megatron project. This simulation provides the most detailed view of the Milky Way during its first few billion years of existence. The computational process required three years of work on supercomputers, resulting in six papers published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics.
The simulation reveals that the early universe contained thousands of galaxies, including some that emit light despite lacking stars. These objects either consist of gas heated to a glowing state or are remnants of galaxies where stars have collapsed into black holes. The model also accounts for non-equilibrium physics, which is critical for accurately simulating gas flows in the circumgalactic medium.
Megatron explains a long-standing astrophysical anomaly regarding iron content in dwarf galaxies. While iron levels typically correlate with galaxy mass, the smallest systems reach a plateau. The simulation attributes this to the explosions of Population III stars, which were composed solely of hydrogen and helium and produced significant amounts of iron shortly after the Big Bang.
The model suggests that a galaxy's gravity acts as a filter for iron released by these stellar explosions. Larger galaxies retain the material, while smaller ones lose it to intergalactic space, creating the observed plateau. The project also provides a map for astronomers to search for potential surviving Population III stars in the vicinity of the Milky Way.
