How the Milky Way Survived the Early Universe’s Galactic Chaos

An international research team has identified the mechanisms that allowed galaxies resembling the Milky Way to survive the violent, high-energy conditions of the early universe. The study, conducted by the BEARD (Bulgeless Evolution And the Rise of Discs) project, explains how these structures maintained their integrity despite a period of intense galactic mergers occurring approximately ten billion years ago.

The research, which involved a collaboration of 35 scientists from 13 institutions across six countries—including Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Chile—was led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL). The findings suggest that while the standard cosmological model predicts that such violent interactions should typically destroy delicate structures like the thin discs of spiral galaxies, certain galaxies managed to persist intact.

Jairo Méndez Abreu, an astrophysicist at the IAC and ULL who serves as the Principal Investigator of the BEARD project, noted that while larger components such as central bulges or luminous spheroids usually provide the stability necessary for galactic survival, the Milky Way and similar objects are classified as “pure discs” that lack these stabilizers. The research team utilized a combination of observational data gathered from telescopes at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in La Palma and advanced numerical computer simulations to model these evolutionary paths.

Adriana de Lorenzo-Cáceres Rodríguez, a coinvestigator on the project, stated that determining how these specific objects reached the present day without being compromised by the chaotic environment of the early universe is a fundamental question in modern astrophysics.

The BEARD project continues to analyze the dynamics of these galactic structures to further refine the understanding of how disc-dominated galaxies, such as our own, successfully navigated the most turbulent phases of cosmic history.