All articles tagged with #cmb
A COMPACT collaboration suggests the universe could be finite yet boundary-less, with light looping through space in a 3-torus topology that could create mirrored observations of the same region. While not yet confirmed, the idea expands searches for topological fingerprints in the CMB and broader Euclidean/non-Euclidean models.
Recent research suggests the universe may be lopsided, challenging the standard cosmological model that assumes it is uniform in all directions, due to discrepancies like the cosmic dipole anomaly which do not align with current theories, prompting a potential overhaul of our understanding of the cosmos.
New research suggests that the universe could have a more complicated shape, like a giant doughnut, despite all evidence suggesting it's flat. The study finds that strange patterns found in echoes of the Big Bang could be explained by a universe with a more complicated topology, and astronomers have not fully tested the universe's flatness. While most observations suggest the universe is flat, there are 18 possible geometrically flat, 3D topologies, and a universe with a complicated topology could explain some of the anomalies in the cosmic microwave background.
Cosmologists are using the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation to map the distribution of both ordinary matter and dark matter in the universe. The CMB light has been stretched, squeezed, and warped by all the matter in its way, leaving detectable imprints on its magnification and color. By examining CMB data taken by the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite and the ground-based Atacama Cosmology Telescope, scientists have been able to measure the alignment of ordinary matter and dark matter, providing estimates for the strength and temperature of the dispersing blasts. These insights are helping to settle some long-standing cosmological mysteries and pose some new ones.