Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Precise picture of early Universe supports 'dark matter' theory

Precise picture of early Universe supports 'dark matter' theory

November 03, 2009

A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled by an international team co-led by a Cardiff University scientist.

The team has obtained extremely precise data about the early universe, using a telescope near the South Pole in the Antarctic.




Their measurements of the cosmic microwave background - a faintly glowing relic of the hot, dense, young universe - provide further support for the standard cosmological model of the universe. The findings confirm the model's prediction that dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of everything in existence, while ordinary matter makes up just 5%.

In a paper published in the November 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal, researchers on the QUaD telescope project have released detailed maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The researchers focused their measurements on variations in the CMB's temperature and polarization to learn about the distribution of matter in the early universe. Polarization is the direction in which vibrations travel from all light rays, which is at right angles to the ray's direction of travel.

The light from the early universe was initially unpolarized but became polarized when it struck moving matter in the very early universe. By creating maps of this polarization, the QUaD team was able to investigate not just where the matter existed, but also how it was moving. The results very closely match the temperature and polarization predicted by the existence of dark matter and dark energy in the standard cosmological model.

The team was jointly led by Professor Walter Gear, Head of the School of Physics and astronomy at Cardiff University and Professor Sarah Church of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), jointly located at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University.

Professor Gear said: "Studying the CMB radiation has given us extremely precise pictures of the Universe at just 400,000 years old. When we first started working on this project the polarization of the CMB hadn't even been detected and we thought we might be able to find something wrong with the theory. The fact that these superb data fit the theory so beautifully is in many ways even more amazing. This reinforces the view that researchers are on the right track and need to learn more about the strange nature of dark energy and dark matter if we are to fully understand the workings of the universe."

Michael Brown, of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology at the University of Cambridge, lead author of the new study added: "With these new QUaD measurements, we have tested further our standard model of the Universe. Reassuringly, the model has passed this test remarkably well."

Professor Sarah Church, Deputy Director of KIPAC, said: "When I first started in this field, some people were adamant that they understood the contents of the universe quite well. But that understanding was shattered when evidence for dark energy was discovered. Now that we again feel we have a very good understanding of what makes up the universe, it's extremely important for us to amass strong evidence using many different measurement techniques that this model is correct, so that this doesn't happen again."

Cardiff University



Related Dark Energy Current Events and Dark Energy News Articles Dark Energy Current Events and Dark Energy News RSS Dark Energy Current Events and Dark Energy News RSS
ESA spacecraft may help unravel cosmic mystery
When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth tomorrow for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.

Science at the Petascale: Roadrunner Results Unveiled
The world's fastest supercomputer, Roadrunner, at Los Alamos National Laboratory has completed its initial "shakedown" phase doing accelerated petascale computer modeling and simulations of a variety of unclassified, fundamental science projects.

Scientists use world's fastest supercomputer to model origins of the unseen universe
Understanding dark energy is the number one issue in explaining the universe, according to Salman Habib, of the Laboratory's Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology group.

Vanderbilt astronomers participate in new search for dark energy
The most ambitious attempt yet to trace the history of the universe has seen "first light." The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III), took its first astronomical data on the night of Sept. 14-15 at the Sloan Foundation telescope in New Mexico.

Rebirth of an icon: Hubble's first images since Servicing Mission 4
Astronomers today declared the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory ready for a new decade of exploration, with the release of observations from four of its six operating science instruments.

Dark Energy From the Ground Up: Make Way for BigBOSS
Several ways have been proposed to examine dark energy, in hopes of finding out just what it is. One of them, "supernovae" for short, certainly works: it's how dark energy was discovered in the first place. Other independent techniques, such as weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation, also promise great power but are as yet unproven.

NASA celebrates Chandra X-Ray Observatory's 10th anniversary
Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia and deployed into orbit.

Radio telescopes extend astronomy's best 'yardstick'
Radio astronomers have directly measured the distance to a faraway galaxy, providing a valuable "yardstick" for calibrating large astronomical distances and demonstrating a vital method that could help determine the elusive nature of the mysterious Dark Energy that pervades the Universe.

Cosmology's Best Standard Candles Get Even Better
Members of the international Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory), a collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a consortium of French laboratories, and Yale University, have found a new technique that establishes the intrinsic brightness of Type Ia supernovae more accurately than ever before.

Astronomy's bright future
To mark UNESCO's International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), six leading astronomers from the UK, the US, Europe and Asia write in March's Physics World about the biggest challenges and opportunities facing international astronomers over the next couple of decades.
More Dark Energy Current Events and Dark Energy News Articles
Dark Matters: Unifying Matter, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Universal Grid

Dark Matters: Unifying Matter, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Universal Grid
by Dr. Percy Seymour (Author)

One of the most important unsolved problems of current physics, astronomy, and cosmology is the nature of dark matter and dark energy. These two invisible components of the universe seem to control the behavior of galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the accelerating expansion of the universe, but we do not know what they are. Dark Matters offers a unified explanation for dark matter and dark energy, and, in doing so, formulates a new theory of ordinary matter.

Central to this new theory is the concept of electric lines of force, encased in something called insulating space, which means we are generally not aware of them, just as we are not aware of the currents passing through insulated cables.

The essential feature of Dark Matters that sets it apart from similar...

  Interstellar Pianos
by Dark Energy



Dove Energy Glow Daily Face Moisturizer, Medium to Dark Skin, 1.7 fl oz (50 ml)

Dove Energy Glow Daily Face Moisturizer, Medium to Dark Skin, 1.7 fl oz (50 ml)
by Dove



Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe

Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe
by Evalyn Gates (Author)

Cutting-edge astrophysics that builds on Einstein's theories to find the unseen matter that fills the Universe. Dark energy. Dark matter. These strange and invisible substances don't just sound mysterious: their unexpected appearance in the cosmic census is upending long-held notions about the nature of the Universe. Astronomers have long known that the Universe is expanding, but everything they could see indicated that gravity should be slowing this spread. Instead, it appears that the Universe is accelerating its expansion and that something stronger than gravity--dark energy--is at work. In...

Dove  Energy Glow Gradual Tanning Beauty Body Lotion, Medium To Dark Skin, 13.5-Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2)

Dove Energy Glow Gradual Tanning Beauty Body Lotion, Medium To Dark Skin, 13.5-Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2)
by Dove

Dove believes having a fresh, sun-kissed look should not be reserved just for the summer. That's why Dove developed Energy Glow Daily Moisturizer with subtle self-tanners. It leaves your skin soft and smooth while gradually enhancing and evening out your natural skin color, giving you a beautiful summer glow all year round. For a beautiful sun-kissed look from head to toe, use with Dove Energy Glow daily face moisturizer with a touch of self-tanner. Good for your skin, great for your look ™.

YuGiOh Elemental Energy Broww, Huntsman of Dark World EEN-EN021 Rare

YuGiOh Elemental Energy Broww, Huntsman of Dark World EEN-EN021 Rare
by Upper Deck

YuGiOh Elemental Energy - Elemental Energy Single Cards! If this card is discarded from the hand to the Graveyard by a card effect, draw 1 card from your Deck. If this card is discarded from the hand to the Graveyard by your opponent's card effect, draw 1 more card from your Deck.

Minka Lavery Lights 8236-94-PL Post Mount Light - Energy Star Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting

Minka Lavery Lights 8236-94-PL Post Mount Light - Energy Star Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting
by Minka Lavery

The Minka-Lavery Outdoor 8236-94-PL is a Post Mount Light Fixture from the Amarante Heritage PL Collection. This Lighting Fixture is Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Approved for WET or Damp Locations

Energy Efficient Dark Bronze Balance Arm Floor Lamp

Energy Efficient Dark Bronze Balance Arm Floor Lamp
by Universal Lighting and Decor

An energy efficient beauty, this floor lamp features a rich dark bronze finish. A classic design that highly adjustable for reading or other tasks. Dark bronze finish. On/off foot switch. Includes one 13 watt CFL bulb. Round foot is 10" wide. 56 1/2" high. Extends up to 25".

Dark Energy (Oscillator Dub)

Dark Energy (Oscillator Dub)
Kevin Freeman & Hypno (Primary Contributor)



© 2009 BrightSurf.com