Kavli IPMU Professor John Silverman said, “Vera Rubin provided the first evidence for dark matter using the rotation curves of nearby local galaxies. We’re using the same technique but now in the early Universe.”

Blue-shifted (towards researchers) and redshifted (away) gas show velocity changes in the galaxy. Unlike past studies, which showed less dark matter in the galaxy’s outskirts, their data shows a flat rotation curve, indicating that more dark matter is needed for high velocities.

These findings shed light on the relationship between dark matter and supermassive black holes, helping us understand galaxy evolution from the early Universe to today.