MEGATRON Simulation Links First Stars to Milky Way's Chemical Fossils
A new high-resolution simulation called MEGATRON bridges the gap between early universe observations and local stellar chemistry. Led by researchers at the University of Bath, Chicago, and Paris, the project models the formation of the first stars and galaxies from 2023 to 2030. By tracking gas, radiation, and chemical evolution simultaneously, MEGATRON explains how Population III stars enriched the cosmos with heavy elements. The simulation successfully reproduces the 'iron plateau' in dwarf galaxies, suggesting that single massive stellar explosions seeded these systems with iron. This work provides a physical link between James Webb Space Telescope data of distant galaxies and the chemical fingerprints preserved in ancient Milky Way stars.
