James Webb Space Telescope finds unusual galaxies that point to an alternative to dark matter

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered unusual galaxies. These mysterious distant worlds point to the existence of an alternative to dark matter.

A group of astronomers analyzing Webb's data claim that some of the oldest galaxies in our Universe appear much larger and brighter than expected. This indicates that they formed early and grew rapidly - potentially without the influence of dark matter, Space.com writes.

According to the researchers, Webb's photos provide new clues that point to an alternative to dark matter known as modified Newtonian dynamics or MOND.

The gradual hierarchical evolution of galaxies, believed to be driven by cold dark matter and a key component of the standard cosmological model of our universe, is widely accepted. After all, it explains the variety of shapes and sizes of galaxies scattered throughout space

However, Webb did not detect the faint signals expected to emanate from these small, primitive fragments of galaxies in the early Universe, Stacey McGaugh, who is an astrophysicist at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, said in a statement. Instead, the telescope's data show that the early galaxies were larger and brighter than expected.

The researchers argue that these galaxies grew too big and too fast - far outpacing the expectations set by conventional models of cold dark matter. However, this rapid growth is exactly in line with MOND predictions from 26 years ago.

Scientists speculate that some of the excessively bright sources detected by the telescope could be active supermassive black holes instead of galaxies.

MOND argues that when gravity becomes extremely weak, it does not behave as Isaac Newton predicted. An example is the outskirts of galaxies. This concept was proposed by Israeli physicist Mordechai Milgrom in 1982 as a way to explain the superfast rotation of galaxies without the use of dark matter or dark energy.

Although MOND has had some success, it has many critics. Astronomers have found it difficult to integrate the idea into a single framework that can explain a wide range of cosmological observations.

"We are caught between two very different theories that seem irreconcilable, despite the fact that they apply to closely related but disparate lines of evidence," said Stacey McGaugh and her colleagues.

Although MOND is not a universally accepted theory in cosmology, the researchers are convinced that it has made enough successful predictions that it cannot be a mere coincidence. "It probably tells us something. However, what it is remains as much a mystery as the composition of dark matter," the team of scientists summarized.

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