A Scientist Thinks the Universe Bounced Out of a Black Hole
A new hypothesis from physicists at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. challenges the long-standing Big Bang Theory as the ultimate origin of the universe.
This new 'Black Hole Universe' hypothesis, suggests that our universe possibly 'bounced' from the formation of larger black hole in another parent universe.
While intriguing, the Big Bang Theory is the undisputed cosmological champ for a reason, so it'll take lots of rigorous experiments to confirm its theoretical conclusions.
Throughout human history, there has been no greater question than 'where do we come from?' This existential curiosity has spawned entire religions, philosophies, and (more recently) serious scientific inquiry. Amazingly, as science and technology have progressed over the past century, we've begun to actually answer that age-old question. Thanks to groundbreaking discoveries in the 20th century—not the least of which was the accidental discovery of the cosmic microwave background in the 1960s—we now know that the universe most likely formed from a rapid expansion of matter known formally as the Big Bang.
But just because the Big Bang is our best answer for the beginning of everything, that doesn't mean it's the only one. In the early years, the main competitor to Big Bang Cosmology was the Steady State Universe (though the discovery of the CMB largely put that idea to rest). But in recent years, new alternatives have emerged to challenge the Big Bang's cosmological supremacy. One of the latest in this contrarian family is detailed in a new paper published in the journal Physical Review D, in which physicists from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. theorize that maybe our universe formed within an interior black hole of a larger parent universe.
Yeah, let's dig into it.
Comparisons between black holes and the cosmology of our universe make some sense—after all, both contain singularities of a sort and horizons beyond which we can't hope to glimpse. However, this new theory, which is called the 'Black Hole Universe,' suggests that our black hole-generated universe is just one step in a cosmological cycle driven by gravity and quantum mechanics.
'The Big Bang model begins with a point of infinite density where the laws of physics break down. This is a deep theoretical problem that suggests the beginning of the Universe is not fully understood,' Enrique Gaztanaga, lead author of the study from the University of Portsmouth, said in a press statement. 'We've questioned that model and tackled questions from a different angle—by looking inward instead of outward. Instead of starting with an expanding Universe and asking how it began, we considered what happens when an overdensity of matter collapses under gravity.'
The genesis of this theory and others like it stems from the fact that we simply don't know what goes on the heart of black hole. And because knowledge (like nature) abhors a vacuum, scientists begin crafting hypotheses in an attempt to understand this unknown. In Gaztanaga and his team's case, they've shown that a gravitational collapse doesn't necessarily end in a singularity, but can instead 'bounce' into a new expansion phase.
'Crucially, this bounce occurs entirely within the framework of general relativity, combined with the basic principles of quantum mechanics,' Gaztanaga's team said in a press statement. 'We now have a fully worked-out solution that shows the bounce is not only possible—it's inevitable under the right conditions. One of the strengths of this model is that it makes predictions that can be thoroughly tested.'
As a science coordinator on the ESA mission Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys, or ARRAKIHS (a true master-class in science acronym-ing), Gaztanaga hopes to use the instrument's ability to analyze ultra-low surface brightness structures in the outskirts of galaxies to see if data points to a 'Black Hole Universe' or the undisputed scientific champ, the Big Bang.
Presenting alternative ideas to long-standing theories is a key function of the scientific method, as it rigorously tests what we think we know from new angles. Even if ARRAKIHS confirms our Big Bang suspicions (as it most likely will), this alternative hypothesis still take us one step closer to truly understanding a question that's followed our species for hundreds of thousands of years.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Did 'primordial' black holes born right after the Big Bang help our universe's 1st stars form?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. New research suggests that primordial black holes created during the Big Bang could have played a major role in forming the universe's first stars. The findings could help to assess how suitable primordial black holes are as candidates for dark matter, the universe's most mysterious "stuff." But the study team isn't sure yet whether these black holes helped star formation, acting as "cosmic midwives" by ferrying matter to sites of stellar birth, or if they acted to suppress starbirth! The role primordial black holes played in the formation of so-called "Population III (POP III) stars" ( a confusing name for the first generation of stars) all depends on what masses these hypothetical original black holes have. "We investigated how primordial black holes — ancient black holes that may have formed in the very early universe — could have influenced the birth of the first stars," team member Stefano Profumo of the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) told "Using advanced computer simulations, we found that, depending on their mass and abundance, these black holes could either speed up or delay the formation of the first stars." Profumo added that, in some cases, primordial black holes likely acted like "cosmic seeds," helping matter clump together earlier than expected. However, in other scenarios, Profumo and colleagues found that these black holes could have disrupted gas clouds, actually preventing stars from forming promptly. Primordial black holes: Friend or foe to star formation? Primordial black holes are thought to have formed as a result of density fluctuations in matter in the early universe. This is quite different from the origin of so-called stellar-mass black holes, which are created when massive stars collapse and erupt in supernovas at the end of their lives. This means that primordial black holes didn't have to wait for the first generation of stars to live and die before they could be created. Also, it doesn't place the same kinds of mass limits on primordial black holes that exist for stellar-mass black holes, as the former are created directly from early cosmic material rather than from collapsing stars, which can only be so massive. However, because primordial black holes are yet to be discovered, there isn't much else scientists can firmly say about them. Profumo explained how primordial black holes could play a role in star formation. "Massive primordial black holes can serve as powerful gravitational centers. In the early universe, they could have pulled in gas and dark matter more quickly, jump-starting the formation of small galaxies and stars," he said. "This could explain how some of the earliest galaxies we now see — thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — managed to form so surprisingly fast after the Big Bang." However, primordial black holes must have a certain mass to play a positive role in star birth, according to the team's simulations, which were performed using a software package called GIZMO, running the hydrodynamics of the universe's initial gas and dust. "To boost early star formation in the way we observed, the black holes would need to be quite massive — about a thousand to ten thousand times the mass of our sun," Profumo said. "At those sizes, and in the right numbers, they'd have a noticeable effect on how quickly the first stars formed." More massive primordial black holes would do this by causing density fluctuations in matter to increase. This would create more so-called dark matter haloes, vast clusters of this mysterious form of matter within which the building blocks of stars and galaxies could gather en masse. If there are too many of these massive primordial black holes, however, then stars and galaxies would form too fast, thus not reflecting our picture of the early universe. But the team found that primordial black holes with masses smaller than around 100 times that of the sun wouldn't increase density fluctuations. Instead, the team's simulations indicated that, if there were enough of these less massive primordial black holes, the influence of their gravity would generate tidal forces within vast clouds of gas and heat them. This is problematic for star formation, because stellar bodies are born when cold and over-dense clumps of gas and dust collapse under the influence of their own gravity. The more low-mass primordial black holes in the early universe, the more gas is heated and the more star formation is stunted. Thus, this is a really Goldilocks situation. To assist in star formation, the masses and population sizes of primordial black holes need to be "just right." Further investigation of these competing scenarios could tell scientists more about dark matter. Primordial black holes and dark matter Dark matter is so problematic to scientists because, despite accounting for about 85% of the matter in the universe, it remains effectively invisible. That means everything we see — stars, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, each other, and so forth — accounts for just 15% of the stuff in the universe. Scientists can gather that dark matter isn't made up of particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons, which compose the atoms of "normal" matter, because those particles interact with light, and whatever dark matter is doesn't. This has spurred a search for particles beyond the standard model of particle physics. The fact that this hunt has turned up empty has kept primordial black holes in the frame as dark matter suspects. "This research tells us that if primordial black holes do make up some or all of the dark matter, they can't just have any mass or be present in any amount," Profumo said. "If there are too many, or if they're too massive, they would cause the first stars to form much too early — before we see any signs of them. "On the other hand, if they're too small and too abundant, they can get in the way of star formation. This gives us a new way to rule out certain black hole scenarios for dark matter." Of course, primordial black holes remain hypothetical. Barring the detection of these Big Bang-generated black holes, there are other ways that astronomers could find evidence supporting the team's theory about their role in early star formation. "The effects we studied would show up during what's called the cosmic dawn — roughly 100 to 200 million years after the Big Bang. In some of our most extreme scenarios, star formation could start as early as 15 million years after the Big Bang — much earlier than traditional models suggest," Profumo said. "If telescopes like JWST or future instruments can find galaxies or stars forming very, very early in the universe, that would support the idea that something like primordial black holes helped cosmic structures form faster than usual." Related Stories: — A 'primordial' black hole may zoom through our solar system every decade — Primordial black holes may flood the universe. Could one hit Earth? — Tiny black holes left over from the Big Bang may be prime dark matter suspects The next step for the team is to move beyond the assumption that all primordial black holes would have the same masses. "Most theories suggest a mix of masses, and we want to model that more realistically," Profumo said. "We're also planning to improve the physical modeling of star formation, and to simulate larger patches of the early universe to understand how primordial black holes might have influenced not just the first stars but also the formation of early galaxies." The team's research is available as a preprint on the paper repository arXiv. Solve the daily Crossword
WIRED
5 hours ago
- WIRED
This Might Be the Most Massive Black Hole Ever Discovered
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36 Billion Suns: Record Black Hole Discovery Could Be as Big as They Get
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