The cosmos still has many surprises in store for us. A recent study suggests that our position in the universe could be more singular than we thought.
Astronomers have long believed that the distribution of galaxies around us was representative of the universe as a whole. However, recent observations indicate that we could reside in a large under-dense region, a ‘cosmic emptiness’. This discovery questions some of our certainties about the structure of the universe.
Crédit: Gabriela Secar, CC BY-SA
The study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Based on the analysis of Baryonic Acoustic Oscilizations (BAO). These reasons, printed in the Cosmological diffuse background, serve standard rules to measure the expansion of the universe. The results support the hypothesis of a local vacuum, with a probability Significantly higher than empty -free models. The tension of Hubble, a disagreement on the expansion speed of the universe, perhaps finds an explanation in this discovery. The movement of the material out of the void could create the illusion of a faster expansion. This theory offers an elegant solution to one of the greatest mysteries of the cosmology modern.
Future observations of BAO with low Redshifts will be important to confirm this hypothesis. They could reveal even more marked distortions, strengthening the idea that we live in a particular region of the universe. This perspective opens up new ways to understand the fundamental laws that govern our cosmos.
In the meantime, the scientific community remains divided. Some researchers warn against hasty conclusions, recalling that other explanations for Hubble tension are possible.
What is Hubble’s tension?
Hubble tension designates the divergence between the current measures of the expansion of the universe and the predictions based on the standard cosmology model. This difference, about 10%, poses a serious problem for physicists.
Local measures, like those of supernovae, suggest a faster expansion than that deduced from the cosmological diffuse background. This contradiction could indicate a flaw in our understanding of the physical laws or the properties of the universe.
Several theories are trying to explain this tension. Among them, the existence of more complex than expected black energy, or changes in the laws of gravity. The discovery of a local cosmic vacuum offers another track, less radical but just as intriguing.
To solve this enigma will require more precise observations and perhaps new instruments. The next few years may well mark a turning point in our understanding of the universe.
How do BAO tell us about the universe?
Baryonic acoustic oscillations are pressure waves that have crossed the primordial universe. They left fingerprints in the distribution of galaxies and the cosmological diffuse background.
By studying these reasons, cosmologists can reconstruct the history of the expansion of the universe. BAOs act as standard rules, allowing cosmological distances with great precision.
These measures are essential to test cosmological models. In particular, they make it possible to force the properties of black energy and dark matter, two still mysterious but dominant components of the universe.
Technological progress, such as large galactic statements, constantly improves the accuracy of these measures. The BAO will remain a key tool to unravel the secrets of the universe in the decades to come.
