Latest news with #RolandTimmerman
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astonishing 'halo' of high-energy particles around giant galaxy cluster is a glimpse into the early universe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A vast cloud of energetic particles surrounding a cluster of galaxies that existed around four billion years after the Big Bang could help scientists discover how the early universe took shape. But was the halo of the massive cluster of galaxies — called SpARCS104922.6+564032.5, and located 9.9 billion light-years from Earth— built by erupting supermassive black holes or a cosmic particle accelerator? This envelope of radio-emitting particles — a so-called "radio mini-halo," though it isn't really mini at all — is the most distant example of such a structure ever detected. Its distance is double that of the next farthest radio mini-halo, with its radio signal having taken 10 billion years to reach Earth — the majority of the universe's 13.8 billion-year lifespan. The discovery, made with the LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) radio instrument in Europe, indicates that galaxy clusters, which are some of the largest structures in the known universe, spend most of their existence wrapped in envelopes of high-energy particles. This insight gives scientists a better idea of how energy flows around galaxy clusters. And that in turn could improve our picture of cosmic evolution, study members said. "It's astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance," study co-leader Roland Timmerman, an astronomer at Durham University in England, said in a statement. "It means these energetic particles and the processes creating them have been shaping galaxy clusters for nearly the entire history of the universe." The team posited two possible explanations for the formation of this mini-halo. One possibility is that the supermassive black holes at the hearts of the galaxies in the cluster are ejecting jets of high-energy particles and settling around their home cluster. One problem with this theory, however, is explaining how these particles have managed to maintain their energy as they take their place in a gigantic cloud. The second possible explanation is the existence of a natural particle collider around the galactic cluster. Particles in the hot ionized gas, or plasma, around the cluster may be slamming together at near light-speeds, resulting in the highly energetic particles in the halo. Related Stories: — This baby galaxy cluster is powering extreme star formation with a hidden fuel tank — Our expanding universe: Age, history & other facts — World's largest visible light telescope spies a galaxy cluster warping space-time The team behind the new research believes their results offer a rare chance to observe a galaxy cluster just after it has formed. It also suggests that galactic clusters are filled with energetic particles for billions of years longer than had previously been thought. And further study of this distant radio mini-halo should reveal just where these charged particles originated, according to the scientists. The team's research has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, with a preprint version available on the research repository arXiv.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover ancient radio signals from distant galaxy cluster
Astronomers studying a distant galaxy cluster stumbled upon ancient radio signals that might hold clues to the formation of the early universe. While studying the distant galaxy cluster known as SpARCS1049, astronomers detected faint mysterious radio waves, according to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and available on the pre-print server Xrxiv. The discovered radio waves, which took 10 billion years to reach Earth, originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. These vast clouds of high-energy particles are known as a mini-halo. A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study. Astronomers Make Groundbreaking Discovery About Largest Comet Ever Observed Flying Through Deep Space Mini-halos are described in the study as faint groups of charged particles. These groups are known to emit both radio and X-ray waves. Mini-halos are typically found in clusters between galaxies. Read On The Fox News App Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology of Durham University and co-author of the study said in a statement in how these particles are important for the creation of our universe. "It's astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance," Timmerman said. "It means these energetic particles and the processes creating them have been shaping galaxy clusters for nearly the entire history of the universe." Scientists Detect Mysterious Radio Waves Coming From Beneath Antarctica's Ice The astronomers analyzed data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. The LOFAR is made up of 100,000 small antennas across eight European countries, according to the study. The team of astronomers believes there are two causes for the makeup of these mini-halos. According to the study, the first explanation is supermassive black holes found at the heart of galaxies. These black holes can release high-energy particles into space. The astronomers are perplexed as to how these particles would escape such a powerful black hole to create these clusters. The second explanation, according to the study, is cosmic particle collisions. These cosmic particle collisions occur when charged particles filled with hot plasma collide at near-light speeds. These collisions smash apart, allowing the high-energy particles to be observed from Earth. According to the study, astronomers now believe that this discovery suggests that either black holes or particle collisions have been energizing galaxies earlier than previously believed. New telescopes being developed like the Square Kilometer Array will eventually let astronomers detect even more faint signals. Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo from the University of Montreal and co-lead author of the study said in a statement she believes this is just the beginning to the wonders of space. "We are just scratching the surface of how energetic the early universe really was," Hlavacek-Larrondo said in the statement. "This discovery gives us a new window into how galaxy clusters grow and evolve, driven by both black holes and high-energy particle physics."Original article source: Scientists discover ancient radio signals from distant galaxy cluster
New York Post
3 days ago
- Science
- New York Post
Astronomers stumble upon ancient radio signals from distant galaxy cluster
Astronomers studying a distant galaxy cluster stumbled upon ancient radio signals that might hold clues to the formation of the early universe. While studying the distant galaxy cluster known as SpARCS1049, astronomers detected faint mysterious radio waves, according to a study published in TheAstrophysical Journal Letters and available on the pre-print server Xrxiv. The discovered radio waves, which took 10 billion years to reach Earth, originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. These vast clouds of high-energy particles are known as a mini-halo. A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study. Mini-halos are described in the study as faint groups of charged particles. These groups are known to emit both radio and X-ray waves. Mini-halos are typically found in clusters between galaxies. 4 The discovered radio waves originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. Astrophysics of Galaxies Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology of Durham University and co-author of the study said in a statement in how these particles are important for the creation of our universe. 'It's astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance,' Timmerman said. 'It means these energetic particles and the processes creating them have been shaping galaxy clusters for nearly the entire history of the universe.' The astronomers analyzed data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. The LOFAR is made up of 100,000 small antennas across eight European countries, according to the study. 4 A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study. Astrophysics of Galaxies The team of astronomers believes there are two causes for the makeup of these mini-halos. According to the study, the first explanation is supermassive black holes found at the heart of galaxies. These black holes can release high-energy particles into space. The astronomers are perplexed as to how these particles would escape such a powerful black hole to create these clusters. 4 The LOFAR is made up of 100,000 small antennas across eight European countries, according to the study. Chandra X-ray Center The second explanation, according to the study, is cosmic particle collisions. These cosmic particle collisions occur when charged particles filled with hot plasma collide at near-light speeds. These collisions smash apart, allowing the high-energy particles to be observed from Earth. According to the study, astronomers now believe that this discovery suggests that either black holes or particle collisions have been energizing galaxies earlier than previously believed. 4 The astronomers are perplexed as to how these particles would escape such a powerful black hole to create these clusters. Astrophysics of Galaxies New telescopes being developed like the Square Kilometer Array will eventually let astronomers detect even more faint signals. Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo from the University of Montreal and co-lead author of the study said in a statement she believes this is just the beginning to the wonders of space. 'We are just scratching the surface of how energetic the early universe really was,' Hlavacek-Larrondo said in the statement. 'This discovery gives us a new window into how galaxy clusters grow and evolve, driven by both black holes and high-energy particle physics.' Nick Butler is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Do you have any tips? Reach out to
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Farthest 'mini-halo' ever detected could improve our understanding of the early universe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. 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.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Science
- Fox News
Scientists discover ancient radio signals from distant galaxy cluster
Astronomers studying a distant galaxy cluster stumbled upon ancient radio signals that might hold clues to the formation of the early universe. While studying the distant galaxy cluster known as SpARCS1049, astronomers detected faint mysterious radio waves, according to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and available on the pre-print server Xrxiv. The discovered radio waves, which took 10 billion years to reach Earth, originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. These vast clouds of high-energy particles are known as a mini-halo. A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study. Mini-halos are described in the study as faint groups of charged particles. These groups are known to emit both radio and X-ray waves. Mini-halos are typically found in clusters between galaxies. Roland Timmerman of the Institute for Computational Cosmology of Durham University and co-author of the study said in a statement in how these particles are important for the creation of our universe. "It's astonishing to find such a strong radio signal at this distance," Timmerman said. "It means these energetic particles and the processes creating them have been shaping galaxy clusters for nearly the entire history of the universe." The astronomers analyzed data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. The LOFAR is made up of 100,000 small antennas across eight European countries, according to the study. The team of astronomers believes there are two causes for the makeup of these mini-halos. According to the study, the first explanation is supermassive black holes found at the heart of galaxies. These black holes can release high-energy particles into space. The astronomers are perplexed as to how these particles would escape such a powerful black hole to create these clusters. The second explanation, according to the study, is cosmic particle collisions. These cosmic particle collisions occur when charged particles filled with hot plasma collide at near-light speeds. These collisions smash apart, allowing the high-energy particles to be observed from Earth. According to the study, astronomers now believe that this discovery suggests that either black holes or particle collisions have been energizing galaxies earlier than previously believed. New telescopes being developed like the Square Kilometer Array will eventually let astronomers detect even more faint signals. Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo from the University of Montreal and co-lead author of the study said in a statement she believes this is just the beginning to the wonders of space. "We are just scratching the surface of how energetic the early universe really was," Hlavacek-Larrondo said in the statement. "This discovery gives us a new window into how galaxy clusters grow and evolve, driven by both black holes and high-energy particle physics."
