2024-01-12 22:24:49
by Paolo Virtuani
According to current physical laws, such a structure, 9.2 billion light years away from us, should not exist because it contradicts the Cosmological Principle, that is, the Universe on a large scale is homogeneous.
A clue is a clue, two are a coincidence, three are proof, said Agatha Christie. What if there are seven? If there are seven then our theories that govern the Universe, in particular the Cosmological Principle, begin to falter. Let’s go in order, respecting the news. At the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society held this week in New Orleans, Alexia Lopez, a PhD student at the University of Central Lancashire, presented research showing the existence of what she called the Great Ring of Sky, that is, a circular structure with a diameter of about 1.3 billion light years formed by galaxies and clusters of galaxies in the direction of the constellation Bootes. According to current theories, a megastructure could not be larger than 1.2 billion light years.
The Cosmological Principle
According to current physical laws, such a structure should not exist because it contradicts the Cosmological Principle, that is, the Universe is homogeneous on a large scale, while it is not on a local scale. We notice it too: planets, stars and galaxies demonstrate that matter gathers in the middle of large empty spaces. But at very large scales, the Universe appears homogeneous with superclusters of galaxies distributed randomly in a way that does not depend on our observation point. From this it follows that at the moment of the Big Bang the Universe must already have been homogeneous.
The contradiction
The fact that Alexia Lopez two years ago had discovered another structure that defies the laws that govern the structures of the Universe. This is the Giant Arc, which extends for 3.3 billion light years, and which is located close (so to speak, since we are talking about galactic distances) to the Great Ring. The Great Ring is located 9.2 billion light-years away from us, has a circumference of 4 billion light-years, but is not visible to the naked eye. If it were, it would be fifteen times the size of the full Moon. Neither the Great Ring nor the Giant Bow can be explained by current cosmological theories, commented Alexia Lopez. In addition to his two, five other unexplained mega structures had previously been discovered. So what are these enormous structures that shouldn’t exist due to?
The three hypotheses
Scientists put forward three hypotheses. The Great Ring could be linked to Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (Bao), observable in the cosmic microwave background due to fluctuations in the density of baryons, i.e. the elements that make up ordinary matter. A second theory concerns Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC), proposed by Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose. The Great Ring would be a sign of the infinite cycles of the Universes. Reducing the theory to its bare bones, we can say that from the end of one universe begins the beginning of another in an endless cycle. A third hypothesis refers to the effects of cosmic strings, which could have been created in the primordial Universe and which, according to another Nobel Prize winner, Jim Peebles, could have played a role in the distribution of large-scale galaxies.
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January 12, 2024 (modified January 12, 2024 | 9.18 pm)
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