Proximity of early galaxies to each other

[dilletante]

Given that the universe is expanding and galaxies in general are accelerating away from each other, I would assume that galaxies appearing in the Hubble deep field at a distance of 12 or 13B light years from us should be much closer to each other than is typical for galaxies today. Is this a correct assumption, that this "older" universe we view is much more crowded?

 

[DaveC426913]

Yes.

 

[Chronos]

The problem with deep sky studies is only freakishly bright objects are detectable at great distances. Using 2df quasar data, density [of quasars] is fairly stable over time. The greatest density actually occur around 2-3 billion years after the BB. This is not shocking. It takes time for things like quasars to form. This little hump puts a big hurt on steady state theory, as does CMB, primordial elemental abundance, and other solid observational evidence.