A Cosmic 'CT Scan' Reveals the Universe is More Complex Than We Thought
A groundbreaking combination of data from two major astronomical surveys has unveiled a new way of understanding the universe's evolution—a "cosmic CT scan" that reveals unexpected complexity in how the cosmos has developed over billions of years.
Researchers used data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to create multidimensional snapshots of the universe, illustrating how matter has clumped together and dispersed since the Big Bang. These findings suggest the universe has grown more intricate than previously predicted.
"This process is like a cosmic CT scan," said Mathew Madhavacheril, team co-leader from the University of Pennsylvania. "We can look through different slices of cosmic history and track how matter clumped together at different epochs."
The Universe’s Baby Picture
The ACT captured light from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the oldest light in the universe, created just 380,000 years after the Big Bang. This "baby picture" of the cosmos offers insights into its infancy when electrons and protons first formed neutral hydrogen atoms, making the universe transparent.
However, this light has undergone significant changes over the past 13.8 billion years. As it traveled through spacetime, shaped by gravity, the CMB warped around massive cosmic structures, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.
DESI, on the other hand, provided a "grown-up" view of the universe by mapping the three-dimensional distribution of millions of galaxies. These galaxies serve as markers, showing how matter has rearranged over cosmic time.
A Cosmic Puzzle: Missing "Clumpiness"
When the researchers combined the ACT's CMB lensing maps with DESI's galaxy distribution data, they uncovered a small yet intriguing discrepancy: the matter in the universe today appears less "clumpy" than theoretical models predicted.
"This small discrepancy could be significant," said Madhavacheril. "It hints that cosmic structures may not have evolved exactly as we expected, suggesting there might be more to learn about how gravity and other forces shape the universe."
The results align broadly with Einstein's theory of general relativity, but the reduced clumpiness of matter, particularly around four billion years ago, suggests that our understanding of the universe's evolution might still have some gaps.
What’s Next?
The researchers plan to investigate further using more advanced telescopes and precise measurements. Their findings were published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics on December 10, 2024.
As scientists continue to explore these cosmic mysteries, the universe’s "photo album" of evolution is far from complete, but this cosmic CT scan offers a tantalizing glimpse into the complexities of our ever-changing cosmos.
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