Farthest 'mini-halo' ever detected could improve our understanding of the early universe
While analyzing a 10 billion-year-old radio signal, astronomers discovered a "mini-halo" — a cloud of energetic particles — around a far-off cluster of galaxies. The unexpected findings could further our understanding of the early universe.
This mini-halo is the most distant one ever detected, located twice as far from Earth as the next-farthest mini-halo. It is also massive, spanning more than 15 times the width of the Milky Way, and contains strong magnetic fields. The findings have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and are available on the preprint server arXiv.
"It's astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance," Roland Timmerman, a radio astronomer at Durham University who co-led the study, said in a statement.
Mini-halos are faint groups of charged particles that emit radio and X-ray waves in the vacuum of space between galaxies. They have been detected around galaxy clusters in the local universe, but never as far back in space and time as the one reported in the new study.
There are two theories that could explain the collection of particles, according to the researchers.
One possible cause is the supermassive black holes at the centers of large galaxies within the distant cluster. These black holes can shoot high-energy particles into space, but it's not clear how the particles would travel away from a powerful black hole and into a mini-halo without losing significant energy.
Another possible means of creation is the collision of charged particles within the plasma in a galaxy cluster. When these high-energy particles smash into each other, often at close to the speed of light, they can break apart into the kinds of particles that can be seen from Earth.
Related: James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, spanning over 13 billion years
Observations of the mini-halo come from light so old that it changes the picture of galaxy formation, proving that these charged particles have surrounded galaxies for billions of years longer than was known.
"Our discovery implies that clusters of galaxies have been immersed in such particles since their formation," Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo, an astrophysicist at the University of Montréal who also co-led the research, told Live Science in an email. It's "something which we were not expecting at first."
Scientists can now study the origin of these mini-halos to determine whether black holes or particle collisions are responsible for them.
These particles also have a hand in other astrophysical processes, like star formation. They can affect the energy and pressure of the gas within a galaxy or couple with magnetic fields in unique ways. These processes can keep clouds of gas from collapsing, in turn altering how stars form in the gas.
RELATED STORIES
—'Totally unexpected' galaxy discovered by James Webb telescope defies our understanding of the early universe
—Ghostly galaxy without dark matter baffles astronomers
—Astronomers discover giant 'bridge' in space that could finally solve a violent galactic mystery
"We are still learning a lot about these structures, so unfortunately the more quantitative picture is still very much in development," Timmerman told Live Science in an email.
New radio telescopes, like the SKA Observatory, are in development to help astronomers detect even fainter signals and learn about mini-halos.
"We are just scratching the surface of how energetic the early Universe really was," Hlavacek-Larrondo said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New dinosaur species discovered with ‘eye-catching sail' along its back
Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur which had an 'eye-catching sail' along its back and tail which might have been used to attract mates. The new iguanodontian dinosaur, whose fossils were found on the Isle of Wight, was identified by PhD student at the University of Portsmouth and the Natural History Museum Jeremy Lockwood. The retired GP has decided to name the species after sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur who comes from the island off the south coast of England and who became famous for setting a world record for the fastest solo non-stop voyage around the world in 2005. The dinosaur has been given the name Istiorachis macaruthurae with the first word meaning 'sail spine' and the second referring to Dame Ellen's surname. Before Dr Lockwood's analysis, the fossils, which date back 125 millions years, were assumed to have belonged to one of the two known iguanodontian dinosaur species from the Isle of Wight. He said: 'While the skeleton wasn't as complete as some of the others that have been found, no-one had really taken a close look at these bones before 'It was thought to be just another specimen of one of the existing species, but this one had particularly long neural spines, which was very unusual.' Dr Lockwood explained, in his study published in the scientific journal Papers in Palaeontology, that the animal would have probably possessed a pronounced sail-like structure along its back. He said: 'Evolution sometimes seems to favour the extravagant over the practical. While the exact purpose of such features has long been debated – with theories ranging from body heat regulation to fat storage – researchers believe that the most likely explanation in this case is visual signalling, possibly as part of a sexual display and this usually is because of sexual selection. 'In modern reptiles, sail structures often show up more prominently in males, suggesting that these attributes evolved to impress mates or intimidate rivals. We think Istiorachis may have been doing much the same.' For the study, the researchers compared the fossilised bones with a database of similar dinosaur back bones which allowed them to see how these sail-like formations had evolved. Dr Lockwood said: 'We showed that Istiorachis's spines weren't just tall – they were more exaggerated than is usual in Iguanodon-like dinosaurs, which is exactly the kind of trait you'd expect to evolve through sexual selection.' Professor Susannah Maidment, of the Natural History Museum, said: 'Jeremy's careful study of fossils that have been in museum collections for several years has brought to life the iguandontian dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. 'His work highlights the importance of collections like those at Dinosaur Isle, where fossil specimens are preserved in perpetuity and can be studied and revised in the light of new data and new ideas about evolution. 'Over the past five years, Jeremy has single-handedly quadrupled the known diversity of the smaller iguanodontians on the Isle of Wight, and Istiorachis demonstrates we still have much to learn about Early Cretaceous ecosystems in the UK.'
Medscape
10 hours ago
- Medscape
New First-Line Option for Advanced Bladder Cancer
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the combination of enfortumab vedotin (Padcev, Astellas) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda, MSD) as a first-line option for adults with unresectable or metastatic urothelial cancer who are eligible for platinum-based chemotherapy. More than 1200 people in England are expected to benefit each year. Clinical experts described the combination therapy as a "step change" in bladder cancer management. Until now, treatment options for this patient group have seen little meaningful progress since the 1980s. Enfortumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate consisting of an antibody targeting Nectin-4, a protein highly expressed in urothelial carcinoma cells. After binding, it causes the cells to release monomethyl auristatin E, resulting in cell death. Pembrolizumab, its combination partner, is a PD-1 inhibitor. High Disease Burden Urothelial cancer accounts for around 90% of bladder cancers, affecting more than 18,000 people annually in England. Prognosis is poor, with only 10% of patients with stage 4 disease surviving for 5 years or more. Current standard treatments include platinum-based chemotherapy ( cisplatin or carboplatin with gemcitabine), followed by avelumab maintenance therapy if the cancer has not progressed. However, only about 12% of patients see improvement with chemotherapy, underscoring the need for better options. Patient experts described living with metastatic urothelial cancer as "intensely challenging and emotionally exhausting', affecting work, travel, and physical activity. Action Bladder Cancer UK called the announcement a 'very welcome, and significant, step forward for this hard-to-treat cancer'. Clinical Evidence The recommendation in final draft guidance was supported by results from the phase 3 EV-302 trial, which enrolled 886 adults with untreated, unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic urothelial cancer. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either enfortumab vedotin–pembrolizumab or standard chemotherapy. Enfortumab vedotin–pembrolizumab nearly doubled the median time to disease progression or death to 12.5 months, compared with 6.3 months for chemotherapy. Median overall survival was also improved, at 33.8 months versus 15.9 months with chemotherapy. Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said the drug combination is 'highly promising and effective,' adding that these clinical trial results highlight the 'tremendous difference' it could make to the length and quality of people's lives. Cost and NHS Access Enfortumab vedotin is listed at £578 per 20 mg vial or £867 per 30 mg vial. Pembrolizumab costs £2630 per 100 mg vial, excluding VAT. The drugs will be supplied through confidential commercial arrangements with the NHS. NICE's appraisal committee applied a severity modifier, reflecting the high disease burden, and concluded that the therapy met acceptable cost-effectiveness thresholds. The treatment will be available immediately across the NHS in England, with funding required within 90 days of final publication of the guidance.
Digital Trends
13 hours ago
- Digital Trends
AI combines with old tech to give a woman her voice back
Brit Sarah Ezekiel lost her voice after developing motor neurone disease (MND) 25 years ago and ever since has been speaking with what she described as a 'posh robot's voice.' MND is a progressive neurological condition that damages the nerves controlling muscles, leading to weakness and eventual paralysis. After about five years with the disease, Sarah was able to use eye-gaze technology that allowed her to type and speak with a synthetic voice, similar to the late physicist Stephen Hawking, the BBC reported. Recommended Videos While the artificial voice allowed her to continue to communicate through speech, Sarah said she never really liked the sound of it, and wished she could communicate with her now-adult children using her real voice. Enter a U.K.-based tech firm called Smartbox, which said recently that it might be able to help her so long as there was an audio recording of Sarah's real voice that it could work with. The family found an old VHS tape with footage of Sarah, but the audio of her speaking only lasted eight seconds and was obscured by background noise. Working with various AI technologies that included ElevenLabs' Voice Isolator, Smartbox's Simon Poole was able to clone Sarah's voice and incorporate it into her speech software. You can hear the impressive result in this BBC News report. Hearing her speak with her real voice for the first time, daughter Ava told the BBC: 'It was amazing. I'm still coming to terms with it. Hearing it now in everyday life, it still surprises me.' She added: 'We can feel who she is as a person — mum isn't just a disabled person in the corner with a robot that doesn't relate to her.' Sarah's story shows how the latest technology can not only restore someone's speech, but also, by enabling them to speak in their own — albeit synthetic — voice, help them reclaim their identity and reconnect emotionally with loved ones. 'After such a long time, I couldn't really remember my voice,' Sarah said. 'When I first heard it again, I felt like crying. It's a kind of miracle.'
