First star-forming structures in fuzzy cosmic filaments

Understand

In hierarchical models of structure formation, the first galaxies form in low-mass dark matter potential wells, probing the behavior of dark matter on kiloparsec (kpc) scales.

• Even though these objects are below the detection threshold of current telescopes, future missions will open an observational window into this emergent world.
• In this Letter we investigate how the first galaxies are assembled in a `fuzzy' dark matter (FDM) cosmology where dark matter is an ultralight $\sim 10^{-22}$~eV boson and the primordial stars are expected to form along dense dark matter filaments.
• Using a first-of-its-kind cosmological hydrodynamical simulation, we explore the interplay between baryonic physics and unique wavelike features inherent to FDM.