An international team of more than 160 astronomers used the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) to shed new light on the invisible dark matter that makes up about 85 percent of all mass in the universe. Even though dark matter is invisible, they managed to create this map below, which is hundreds of millions of light-years across. The landmark work confirms Albert Einstein’s theories about gravity and cosmology, reaffirming the General Theory of Relativity.
What is ‘dark matter’?
According to NASA, dark matter consists of particles that are invisible, that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light or energy, so it cannot be directly detected. And likewise it is hypothetical for this reason, but its existence can be inferred from its influence on other things. Dark matter is thought to make up about 85 percent of the matter in the universe and interacts only with gravity.
How was the new ‘dark matter’ map made?
The new map focuses on an ongoing concern of Einstein’s general relativity: how the largest objects in the universe, such as supermassive black holes, bend light from more distant sources. This source is the cosmic microwave background, which is the oldest detectable light emitted after the Big Bang. Using the image of the light from the beginning of the universe, called the cosmic microwave background radiation, the research team has created the most detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in the universe. Recent analysis shows that dark matter is “lumpy” enough to fit the standard model of cosmology based on Einstein’s theory of gravity.
On the other hand, with more advanced telescopes, the veil of mystery can be opened even more. According to the statement, a telescope to be installed at the Simons Observatory in Atacama will be operational in 2024 and will map the sky about 10 times faster than the Atacama Cosmology Telescope.
What is Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity?
“We created a new mass map using light distortions left over from the Big Bang,” said Mathew Madhavacheril, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. “Remarkably, it provides measurements that show both the ‘bulkyness’ of the universe and its growth rate after 14 billion years of evolution are what you would expect from our standard model of cosmology, based on Einstein’s theory of gravity.”
The ‘crisis’ in cosmology
Some scientists criticized the standard model of cosmology built on Einstein’s general theory of relativity as incomplete or incorrect. Behind these criticisms was because background light from stars rather than CMB led to different measurements of dark matter. However, it is stated that this new dark matter map is in perfect agreement with Einstein’s model.