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Archive for the ‘cosmology’ category: Page 241

Jul 10, 2019

Researchers decipher the history of supermassive black holes in the early universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

Astrophysicists at Western University have found evidence for the direct formation of black holes that do not need to emerge from a star remnant. The production of black holes in the early universe, formed in this manner, may provide scientists with an explanation for the presence of extremely massive black holes at a very early stage in the history of our universe.

Shantanu Basu and Arpan Das from Western’s Department of Physics & Astronomy have developed an explanation for the observed distribution of supermassive black hole masses and luminosities, for which there was previously no scientific explanation. The findings were published today by Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The model is based on a very simple assumption: supermassive black holes form very, very quickly over very, very short periods of time and then suddenly, they stop. This explanation contrasts with the current understanding of how stellar-mass black holes are formed, which is they emerge when the centre of a very massive star collapses in upon itself.

Jul 8, 2019

Scientists Are Hunting For A Mirror Universe And Attempting To Open Portals Into It

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

Imagine a world where everything is exactly the same as this one but no one knows of its existence, even though it could be staring you right in the face. These are called mirror universes — a parallel world in a different time space. While this prospect may seem a bit fetched to many, Leah Broussard believes that these parallel universes are actually very real. In fact, she, along with her colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, is on the hunt for a mirror universe and plans on opening portals to them.

Broussard is attempting to open a portal to a parallel universe by, what she calls “oscillation” which would eventually lead her to mirror matter. To conduct these experiments during the upcoming summer, Broussard will send a beam of subatomic particles down a 50-foot tunnel, past a powerful magnet, and into an impenetrable wall.

So what’s the point of that? Well, if the setup is just right, some of those particles will transform into mirror-image versions of themselves, allowing them to tunnel right through the wall. If it works, this would be the first proof of a mirror universe. The whole experiment will only take around a day but analyzing the data will take many weeks afterward. Either way, it won’t be long before the results are published.

Jul 8, 2019

These Odd ‘Quasiparticles’ Could Finally Unmask Dark Matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

About 80% of all the matter in the cosmos is of a form completely unknown to current physics. We call it dark matter, because as best we can tell it’s…dark. Experiments around the world are attempting to capture a stray dark matter particle in hopes of understanding it, but so far they have turned up empty.

Recently, a team of theorists has proposed a new way to hunt for dark matter using weird “particles” called magnons, a name I did not just make up. These tiny ripples could lure even a fleeting, lightweight dark matter particle out of hiding, those theorists say. [The 11 Biggest Unanswered Questions About Dark Matter]

We know all sorts of things about dark matter, with the notable exception of what it is.

Jul 5, 2019

Deep-CEE: The AI deep learning tool helping astronomers explore deep space

Posted by in categories: cosmology, robotics/AI

Galaxy clusters are some of the most massive structures in the cosmos, but despite being millions of lightyears across, they can still be hard to spot. Researchers at Lancaster University have turned to artificial intelligence for assistance, developing “Deep-CEE” (Deep Learning for Galaxy Cluster Extraction and Evaluation), a novel deep learning technique to speed up the process of finding them. Matthew Chan, a Ph.D. student at Lancaster University, is presenting this work at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy meeting on 4 July at 3:45pm in the Machine Learning in Astrophysics session.

Most galaxies in the universe live in low-density environments known as “the field”, or in small groups, like the one that contains our Milky Way and Andromeda. Galaxy clusters are rarer, but they represent the most extreme environments that galaxies can live in and studying them can help us better understand and dark energy.

During 1950s the pioneer of galaxy -finding, astronomer George Abell, spent many years searching for galaxy clusters by eye, using a magnifying lens and photographic plates to locate them. Abell manually analysed around 2,000 photographic plates, looking for visual signatures the of galaxy clusters, and detailing the astronomical coordinates of the dense regions of . His work resulted in the ‘Abell catalogue’ of galaxy clusters found in the .

Jul 5, 2019

Scientists are trying to open a portal to a parallel universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

Does a mysterious mirror world lurk in the shadows of perceived reality? It could explain a lot.

Jul 4, 2019

This Is How Mastering Dark Matter Could Take Us To The Stars

Posted by in category: cosmology

It’s found everywhere we know how to look, and just might be nature’s perfect fuel. Here’s how to harness it.

Jul 3, 2019

No, Black Holes Will Never Consume The Universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

O.o.


No matter how long you wait, the matter that makes you probably won’t end up inside a black hole.

Jun 27, 2019

“Astrophysicsts Baffled” –AI Accurately Simulates the Universe & Dark Matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, robotics/AI

AI Simulates the Universe, including amount of dark matter.

Jun 27, 2019

The golden asteroid that could make everyone on Earth a billionaire

Posted by in category: cosmology

Whether it was the Big Bang, Midas or God himself, we don’t really need to unlock the mystery of the origins of gold when we’ve already identified an asteroid worth $700 quintillion in precious heavy metals.

If anything launches this metals mining space race, it will be this asteroid—Psyche 16, taking up residence between Mars and Jupiter and carrying around enough heavy metals to net every single person on the planet close to a trillion dollars.

The massive quantities of gold, iron and nickel contained in this asteroid are mind-blowing. The discovery has been made. Now, it’s a question of proving it up.

Jun 26, 2019

WMAP- Content of the Universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

Public access site for The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and associated information about cosmology.