Simulations confirmed: Missing conventional matter of the universe found
Astronomy was not only unable to detect dark energy and dark matter, but a lot of conventional matter was also missing. That has now changed.
Simulation of the network structures between the galaxies
(Image: Illustris Simulation/ESA)
An international research team has discovered a gigantic structure of hot gas between several galaxies, which is likely to be an important part of the conventional matter that was previously undetectable. This was announced by the University of Bonn, where Florian Pacaud, one of the research leaders, works. The huge gas filament therefore suggests that the existing models for the distribution of so-called baryonic matter are indeed correct. It consists mainly of free electrons and protons, with a temperature of over ten million degrees Celsius. The density is around ten particles per cubic meter, which is 30 to 40 times higher than the average for the universe.
Most of the matter in the cosmos, not yet localized
As the astronomer Pacaud reminds us on the occasion of the discovery, the universe consists of 70 percent dark energy and 25 percent dark matter, according to our understanding. Both have so far only been described theoretically, but are necessary to explain the rotation rates of galaxies and the increasing expansion speed of the cosmos. However, we have also not yet fully localized the remaining conventional matter – which only accounts for a total of 5 percent –: “Not only does modern physics not know the nature of 95 percent of the contents of our universe – we have also not yet been able to localize half of the remaining 5 percent,” the University of Bonn quotes him as saying.
Videos by heise
Simulations have shown that the missing conventional matter must be present primarily in the form of warm ionized matter. However, only parts of it had been found so far, and this evidence did not match the simulations. They have now been able to change this. This was only possible thanks to data from two space telescopes from Europe and Japan. In a first step, the orientation of the gas structures was determined and then a spectrum of the entire region was created using the Japanese Suzaku X-ray telescope. The data from the European XMM-Newton telescope was then used to calculate out disturbances caused by black holes.
In this way, it was possible to determine exactly how the gigantic gas structure connecting the galaxy clusters A3532 and A3530 as well as A3528-N and A3528-S is constructed. All four are therefore part of a collection of over 8000 galaxies that are 650 million light years away from us. The analyzed gas filament is therefore ten times the mass of the Milky Way, and the work should now pave the way for similar studies. These could not only help to localize the previously missing matter, but also reveal the connections between galaxies. The work and the discovery are presented in the science magazine Astronomy & Astrophysics.
(mho)
