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Category: cosmology – Page 93

Astronomers confirm the existence of a lone black hole

A team of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute, working with one colleague from the University of St Andrews’ Center for Exoplanet Science and another from the European Southern Observatory, has confirmed the existence of a lone black hole. In their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the group describes how they studied newer data regarding an object they had spotted several years ago to confirm its identity.

In 2022, members of essentially the same team reported the discovery of what they described as a “dark object” moving through the constellation Sagittarius. They suggested it might be a lone black hole. Shortly thereafter, a second research team challenged that result, suggesting it was more likely a neutron star. After continuing to study the object, the original research team has found more evidence backing up their original claim that it is likely a lone black hole.

Prior to this new finding, all the that have been identified have also had a —they are discovered due to their impact on light emitted by their companion star. Without such a companion star, it would be very difficult to see a black hole. The one identified by the team was only noticed because it passed in front of a distant non-companion star, magnifying its light and shifting its position in the sky for a short while.

An evolutionary algorithmic phase transition 2.6 billion years ago may have sparked the emergence of eukaryotic cells

An international collaboration between four scientists from Mainz, Valencia, Madrid, and Zurich has published new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shedding light on the most significant increase in complexity in the history of life’s evolution on Earth: the origin of the eukaryotic cell.

While the endosymbiotic theory is widely accepted, the billions of years that have passed since the fusion of an archaea and a bacteria have resulted in a lack of evolutionary intermediates in the phylogenetic tree until the emergence of the eukaryotic cell. It is a gap in our knowledge, referred to as the black hole at the heart of biology.

“The new study is a blend of theoretical and observational approaches that quantitatively understands how the genetic architecture of life was transformed to allow such an increase in complexity,” stated Dr. Enrique M. Muro, representative of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in this project.

Astrophysicists propose new method to directly detect ultralight dark matter

The detection of dark matter, the elusive type of matter predicted to make up most of the universe’s mass, is a long-standing goal in the field of astrophysics. As dark matter does not emit, reflect or absorb light, it cannot be observed using conventional experimental methods.

A promising dark matter candidate is so-called ultralight dark matter, which consists of particles with extremely low masses. Astrophysicists have been searching for these ultralight using various approaches and methods, yet they have not yet been detected.

Researchers at the University of Florida recently proposed a new method for the direct detection of ultralight dark matter particles, which is based on astrometry, the precise measurement of the positions and motions of celestial objects.

Miniature Black Hole? This New Device Swallows and Spits Out Light

A team of researchers has engineered a groundbreaking optical device that mimics the physics of black holes and their mysterious counterparts, white holes.

These “optical analogs” use a principle called coherent perfect absorption to either absorb or reflect light depending on its polarization, much like how black holes trap matter and white holes hypothetically expel it. Their success opens new doors not only for studying far-off cosmic phenomena in a lab setting but also for developing advanced technologies like energy conversion systems and stealth materials.

From cosmic phenomena to lab devices.

Major Problem in Physics Could Be Fixed if The Whole Universe Was Spinning

Earth rotates, the Sun rotates, the Milky Way rotates – and a new model suggests the entire Universe could be rotating. If confirmed, it could ease a significant tension in cosmology.

The Universe is expanding, but exactly how fast is a contentious question. Two different methods of measurement return two very different speeds – and as the measurements become more precise, each becomes more certain. This discrepancy is known as the Hubble tension, and it’s reaching crisis levels in physics.

So for a new study, physicists in Hungary and the US added a small rotation to a model of the Universe – and this mathematical massage seemed to quickly ease the tension.

Optical device mimics both black and white holes

In the realm of general relativity, black holes are well-known for their ability to trap light and matter by bending spacetime, creating a point of no return. While black holes have fascinated scientists and the public alike, another concept, the white hole, has remained more theoretical. A white hole is thought to be the reverse of a black hole, expelling light and matter rather than absorbing them. Now, a team of researchers has designed a novel optical device with intriguing similarities with both these elusive cosmic phenomena.

The device, reported in Advanced Photonics, functions as an optical black hole or optical white hole, and rests on a principle known as “coherent perfect absorption” of light waves. Dependent on polarization, this optical device can either absorb or reject light almost entirely, analogous to the behavior of a gravitational black or white hole in space.

The device works by forming a from incident light waves, where interactions with an ultrathin absorber lead to perfect absorption or transmission, based on the polarization of the light. In simple terms, it behaves like a cosmic object that either swallows or repels light.

Physicists Shock the World: Top Quark Discovery Sheds Light on the Universe’s First Moments

CERN scientists have detected top quark pairs in lead-lead collisions for the first time, confirming their presence in the early universe’s quark-gluon plasma. This groundbreaking discovery unlocks new insights into how matter formed just microseconds after the Big Bang. Join us as we explore the science, history, and future implications of this monumental finding.

Paper link : https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.10186
paper link : https://arxiv.org/pdf/0810.5529
paper link : https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.

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AI reimagines gravitational wave detection with innovative designs

Extreme cosmic events such as colliding black holes or the explosions of stars can cause ripples in spacetime, so-called gravitational waves. Their discovery opened a new window into the universe. To observe them, ultra-precise detectors are required, but designing them remains a major scientific challenge for humans.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have been working on how an artificial intelligence system could explore an unimaginably vast space of possible designs to find entirely new solutions. The results were recently published in the journal Physical Review X.

More than a century ago, Einstein theoretically predicted gravitational waves. They could only be directly detected in 2016 because the development of the necessary detectors was extremely complex.

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