New Findings

Astronomers found J0107a, a barred spiral galaxy from 11.1B years ago, forming stars 300× faster than the Milky Way—without signs of any galactic collision.

Using Webb and ALMA, researchers saw J0107a has a well-formed bar and disk, suggesting calm evolution and bar-induced starbursts, not violent mergers.

Thanks to Webb’s infrared vision, scientists could peer through the dust and revealed that many early starburst galaxies had orderly spiral structures.

J0107a's bar stirs massive gas flows, with 50% of the galaxy’s mass in its bar—much higher than modern galaxies—fueling intense central star formation.

This discovery is the first to show bar-induced starbursts in the early Universe, challenging classic theories that relied on collisions and mergers.