Washington DC [US], November 22 : New measurements of radio galaxies reveal that the solar system is racing through the universe at over three times the speed predicted by standard cosmology.
Using highly sensitive data from multiple radio telescope arrays, researchers uncovered a surprisingly strong dipole patternone that challenges longstanding assumptions about how matter is distributed across cosmic scales.
The results echo similar anomalies seen in quasar studies, hinting that something fundamental about our universe's structure or our motion through it may need rewriting.
A research team led by astrophysicist Lukas Bohme at Bielefeld University has now found new answers, ones that challenge the established standard model of cosmology.
The study's findings have just been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
"Our analysis shows that the solar system is moving more than three times faster than current models predict," says lead author Lukas Bohme.
"This result clearly contradicts expectations based on standard cosmology and forces us to reconsider our previous assumptions," added Bohme.
To determine the motion of the solar system, the team analysed the distribution of so-called radio galaxies, distant galaxies that emit particularly strong radio waves, a form of electromagnetic radiation with very long wavelengths similar to those used for radio signals.
Because radio waves can penetrate dust and gas that obscure visible light, radio telescopes can observe galaxies invisible to optical instruments.
As the solar system moves through the universe, this motion produces a subtle "headwind": slightly more radio galaxies appear in the direction of travel.
The difference is tiny and can only be detected with extremely sensitive measurements.
Using data from the LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) telescope, a Europe-wide radio telescope network, combined with data from two additional radio observatories, the researchers were able to make an especially precise count of such radio galaxies for the first time.
They applied a new statistical method that accounts for the fact that many radio galaxies consist of multiple components. This improved analysis yielded larger but also more realistic measurement uncertainties.
Despite this, the combination of data from all three radio telescopes revealed a deviation exceeding five sigma, a statistically very strong signal considered in science as evidence for a significant result.
Cosmological Consequences
The measurement shows an anisotropy ("dipole") in the distribution of radio galaxies that is 3.7 times stronger than what the standard model of the universe predicts.
This model describes the origin and evolution of the cosmos since the Big Bang and assumes a largely uniform distribution of matter.
"If our solar system is indeed moving this fast, we need to question fundamental assumptions about the large-scale structure of the universe," explains Professor Dominik J. Schwarz, cosmologist at Bielefeld University and co-author of the study.
"Alternatively, the distribution of radio galaxies itself may be less uniform than we have believed. In either case, our current models are being put to the test," added Dominik.
The new results confirm earlier observations in which researchers studied quasars, the extremely bright centres of distant galaxies where supermassive black holes consume matter and emit enormous amounts of energy.
The same unusual effect appeared in these infrared data, suggesting that it is not a measurement error but a genuine feature of the universe.
The study highlights how new observational methods can fundamentally reshape our understanding of the cosmos and how much there still remains to discover in the universe.
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