Thanks to the LOFAR and James Webb telescopes, researchers have been able to see a radioactive mini-halo that would explain the emergence of the early universe. According to Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo, this is only the surface of all the information that this discovery could provide, especially when the Square Kilometre Array research gets underway. For his part, Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology stated that it is significant to find such strong radiation at this distance, and that it could be particles that have been shaping galaxies since the origin of the Big Bang.
New discoveries
Experts often spot phenomena in the sky such as quasars and galaxies in formation. However, the latest discovery has left them speechless. It is a cosmic fog coming from a cluster of galaxies located 10 billion light-years away called SpARCS1049. They were able to capture it thanks to the European LOFAR radio telescope, with which they were able to see the presence of magnetic fields and high energy of the early cosmos. After examination, they identified it as a radioactive mini-halo. So far, there was nothing new to report, since its presence does not represent an abnormal event.
However, the detected mini-halo is 10 billion years old; twice as old as those already recorded. According to Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology, “It is incredible to find such a strong radio signal at this distance. This means that these energetic particles and the processes that create them have been shaping galaxy clusters for almost the entire history of the universe. What is the significance of this finding? The presence of these halos means that the space between galaxies is not empty.
2 new theories
Researchers have not been able to determine how the creation of a halo that is so far away was possible. However, they have put forward two theories that could explain this event.
- On the one hand, they paint super-massive black holes located at the center of galaxies. It is believed that, by absorbing gas, they release jets of plasma at the speed of light, being possible the dispersion of energetic electrons throughout the cumulus.
- On the other hand, the collision of particles is proposed. As a result of these collisions, electrons originate which, interacting with the magnetic field, emit radio radiation.
Ongoing research
Scientists are keen to continue this research, as they believe that this mini-halo is not the only one they can find. The current problem lies in the quality and range of the available equipment. However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, with the upcoming arrival of the Square Kilometre Array. What is it? It is the largest radio telescope ever developed to date. With this new device, scientists believe they will be able to pick up more signals, even those that are more subtle. In this way, they will be able to study the magnetic fields of these clusters in more detail.
Until now, such events have only been captured by telescopes such as the James Webb telescope, which is currently in orbit. Astrophysicist Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo, stated “We are just scratching the surface of how energetic the early universe really was”. The experts have been able to establish that this halo puts them on the trail of hitherto unknown, more intense and mysterious physical processes that have been active since the first billion years of the universe.
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