Dark matter is supposed to be a mysterious, invisible matter that permeates the entire universe, connecting stars, planets, galaxies and everything else. This intangible cosmic glue is now illustrated in unprecedented detail, confirming that our current knowledge of physics and cosmology is not an illusion.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?
Before the ACT observatory was decommissioned at the end of 2022, the researchers looked again at the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) to gather the data needed for their study. Based on this data, the map mainly shows regions of mass distribution that stretch as far back in time as we can see.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?
There are four dimensions in space; height, length, width and time. Relativity describes what happens when mass is added to this mix. Einstein’s theory of general relativity, published in 1915, is easier to understand if you think of a bowling ball on a trampoline. Just as a trampoline sinks and warps around the ball, mass warps space-time. Light travels in a straight line, but because space-time is bent by mass, we occasionally observe light as curves. The radical theory was substantiated by photographs of the exact positions of the stars taken during a solar eclipse on May 29, 1919.“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.
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