Accelerated galaxy formation at cosmic dawn via density-dependent gravitational screening

Accelerated galaxy formation at cosmic dawn via density-dependent gravitational screening | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Accelerated galaxy formation at cosmic dawn via density-dependent gravitational screening Pedro Pinto This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed massive galaxies at z > 7 with stellar masses approaching 1011 M⊙, formed within the first 700 million years after the Big Bang. This challenges the standard ΛCDM cosmology, which requires unphysical baryon-to-star conversion efficiencies ϵ ≳ 1 to explain the observed abundances. Here we show that the Dimensional Locking mechanism—a density-dependent gravitational screening derived from extra-dimensional physics—naturally predicts accelerated structure formation at cosmic dawn. At redshifts z ∼ 9– 15, the cosmic matter density (ρ ≈ 10−4 M⊙ pc−3) lies well below the screening threshold (ρcrit ≈ 0.03 M⊙ pc−3), leaving gravity ‘unscreened’ and enhanced. The resulting effective gravitational constant Geff > GN reduces the halo assembly timescale by a factor of ∼ 2–3, reproducing the Labb´e et al. stellar mass densities without fine-tuning. This framework unifies the JWST puzzle with local cosmological tensions (Hubble, S8) under a single geometric mechanism, predicting that early galaxy formation is a natural consequence of the Universe’s low-density past. Physical sciences/Physics/Astronomy and astrophysics/Cosmology Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Astronomy and astrophysics/Galaxies and clusters Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8418059","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":564009375,"identity":"30e304e6-1427-4ea7-97ea-f80d9bffc482","order_by":0,"name":"Pedro Pinto","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACAyCWAGLGBwwMFUCambmBOC08DMxAxhmQFkaitDBAtDC2gZgEtJizN2/78HGHRZ49ezPz58J5tdH87UAtPyq24dRi2XOseObMMxLFPDyH2aRnbjueO+MwYwNjz5nbuF11I8eYmbdNIrFHIv8YM++2Y7kNQC3MjG14tNx/A9OSzPyZd86x3PkEtdzggWthkOZtqMndQEiLZU9aMSPQL4k9Z4B+mXHsQO5GoJaD+Pxizn54M8PHHXWJ7e3AECuoqcudd/7wwQc/KvA4DETAIoKZgeEwmHEAp3osWurwKR4Fo2AUjIIRCgCsYljHhE8j7wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4473-0925","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pedro","middleName":"","lastName":"Pinto","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-21 15:00:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":99310322,"identity":"82405e31-79a3-4e05-99aa-466292328ff1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-31 16:12:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":235929,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"JWST.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8418059/v1_covered_74b1e0ae-10eb-48ca-889f-bcbd67b1a65f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Accelerated galaxy formation at cosmic dawn via\r\ndensity-dependent gravitational screening","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed massive galaxies at z \u003e 7\r\nwith stellar masses approaching 1011 M⊙, formed within the first 700 million years after the Big\r\nBang. This challenges the standard ΛCDM cosmology, which requires unphysical baryon-to-star\r\nconversion efficiencies ϵ ≳ 1 to explain the observed abundances. Here we show that the Dimensional\r\nLocking mechanism—a density-dependent gravitational screening derived from extra-dimensional\r\nphysics—naturally predicts accelerated structure formation at cosmic dawn. At redshifts z ∼ 9–\r\n15, the cosmic matter density (ρ ≈ 10−4 M⊙ pc−3) lies well below the screening threshold (ρcrit ≈\r\n0.03 M⊙ pc−3), leaving gravity ‘unscreened’ and enhanced. The resulting effective gravitational\r\nconstant Geff \u003e GN reduces the halo assembly timescale by a factor of ∼ 2–3, reproducing the\r\nLabb´e et al. stellar mass densities without fine-tuning. This framework unifies the JWST puzzle\r\nwith local cosmological tensions (Hubble, S8) under a single geometric mechanism, predicting that\r\nearly galaxy formation is a natural consequence of the Universe’s low-density past.","manuscriptTitle":"Accelerated galaxy formation at cosmic dawn via\ndensity-dependent gravitational screening","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-24 05:49:30","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8418059/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"705c9acf-087d-4443-b2be-bbae06d23ebb","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 24th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":60055189,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Astronomy and astrophysics/Cosmology"},{"id":60055190,"name":"Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Astronomy and astrophysics/Galaxies and clusters"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-24T05:49:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-24 05:49:30","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8418059","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8418059","identity":"rs-8418059","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}