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The early Universe with JWST and ALMA

Nature Astronomy volume 10, pages 34–41 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the James Webb Space Telescope are transforming our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution in the early Universe. By combining their capabilities, these observatories provide unprecedented insights into the gas, dust and stars of high-redshift galaxies at spatially resolved scales, unveiling the complexities of their interstellar medium, kinematics, morphology, active galactic nuclei and star-formation activity. This review summarizes recent breakthroughs in the study of galaxies during the first billion years of cosmic history, highlighting key discoveries, open questions and current limitations. We discuss how observations, theoretical models and simulations are shaping our understanding of early galaxy evolution and identify promising directions for future research. While substantial progress can be achieved through optimized use of existing facilities and collaborative efforts, further advances will require enhanced angular resolution and sensitivity, motivating upgrades to current instruments and the development of next-generation observatories.

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Fig. 1: ALMA and JWST views of stars and the ISM in high-redshift galaxies.
Fig. 2: High-redshift galaxies observed with ALMA and JWST.
Fig. 3: Cosmological zoom-in simulation of a star-forming galaxy at z = 6.5.
Fig. 4: Multiwavelength view of a star-forming galaxy at z ≈ 4.5 with ALMA, HST and JWST.
Fig. 5: Black hole–stellar mass relation in nearby and z ≳ 4 AGN galaxies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Lorentz Center for hosting the Synergistic ALMA + JWST View of the Early Universe workshop, where we had the opportunity to discuss the progress and main results that ALMA and JWST have produced in the study of the early Universe, which serve as the basis for this Review. We would also like to thank all the workshop participants, whose contributions during the small-group and plenary discussions form the foundation of this Review. We are grateful to the anonymous referees for their insightful and constructive comments, which greatly improved the clarity and overall quality of the manuscript. We thank S. Schouws for providing the data shown in Fig. 2. R.H.-C. thanks the Max Planck Society for support under the Partner Group project ‘The Baryon Cycle in Galaxies’ between the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the University of Concepción. R.H.-C. also acknowledges financial support from ANID–MILENIO–NCN2024112 and ANID BASAL FB210003. N.M.F.S. acknowledges funding by the European Union (ERC Advanced Grant GALPHYS, 101055023). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. L.V. acknowledges support from the INAF Minigrant ‘RISE: Resolving the ISM and Star Formation in the Epoch of Reionization’ (Ob. Fu. 1.05.24.07.01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Rodrigo Herrera-Camus

  2. Millennium Nucleus for Galaxies, Concepción, Chile

    Rodrigo Herrera-Camus

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany

    Natascha M. Förster Schreiber

  4. INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio, Bologna, Italy

    Livia Vallini

  5. Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Rychard Bouwens

  6. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan

    John D. Silverman

  7. Center for Data-Driven Discovery, Kavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan

    John D. Silverman

  8. Department of Astronomy, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    John D. Silverman

  9. Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    John D. Silverman

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  1. Rodrigo Herrera-Camus
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Contributions

R.H.-C., N.M.F.S., L.V., R.B. and J.D.S. organized the Lorentz Workshop Synergistic ALMA + JWST View of the Early Universe, which led to this Review and provided the basis for its content. They wrote the text, R.H.-C. created the figures and L.V. provided the SERRA simulations shown in Fig. 3. All authors participated in the discussion of the results and contributed to revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rodrigo Herrera-Camus.

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Nature Astronomy thanks Joris Witstok and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Herrera-Camus, R., Förster Schreiber, N.M., Vallini, L. et al. The early Universe with JWST and ALMA. Nat Astron 10, 34–41 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02726-0

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