General Category > Science, Technology and Knowledge

Astrophysicists Find Hints of Beyond-Standard-Model Physics in Universe’s Oldest Light

(1/1)

Elderberry:
Sci News 11/30/2020

Astrophysicists Find Hints of Beyond-Standard-Model Physics in Universe’s Oldest Light

Using the polarization data from ESA’s Planck satellite, a mission that have studied the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the oldest light in the Universe, a duo of astrophysicists has uncovered intriguing signs of new physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles and fields.

“The laws of physics governing the Universe are thought not to change when flipped around in a mirror,” said Dr. Yuto Minami from Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu from the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

“For example, electromagnetism works the same regardless of whether you are in the original system, or in a mirrored system in which all spatial coordinates have been flipped.”

“If this symmetry, called parity, is violated, it may hold the key to understanding the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy, which occupy 25 and 70% of the energy budget of the Universe today, respectively.”

“While both dark, these two components have opposite effects on the evolution of the Universe: dark matter attracts, while dark energy causes the Universe to expand ever faster.”

The researchers found hints of a violation of parity symmetry in the CMB radiation.

“The CMB light initially became polarized when scattered by electrons 400,000 years after the Big Bang,” they said.

More: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/beyond-standard-model-physics-cosmic-microwave-background-09103.html

Gefn:
Bookmark

Navigation

[0] Message Index