Line Intensity Mapping News

astronomy4 hours ago•54 min saved

Cosmic web revealed: 3D map shows hidden sea of light in early universe

Space researchers used the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) to produce the largest 3D map of Lyman-alpha light from hydrogen dating to 9–11 billion years ago, exposing a vast “sea of light” between galaxies and outlining the cosmic web. By applying Line Intensity Mapping to thousands of spectra, the team mapped faint hydrogen gas beyond bright galaxies, shedding light on how gas accreted, galaxies formed, and the large-scale structure of the early universe.

via Space|

#astronomy #cosmic-web #early-universe

science2 years ago•5 min saved

"Unveiling the Enigma: The Quest for the Universe's Lost Adolescent Images"

Astrophysicists are developing a new technique called line intensity mapping (LIM) to map galaxies that are too far away for traditional surveys. LIM uses a low-resolution telescope to study the sum of radiation emitted from a collection of galaxies, resulting in smeared images that still contain relevant cosmological and physics information. By combining these images with the color of the light, scientists can determine the clumpiness of the universe and extract valuable insights about dark energy, dark matter, inflation, and neutrinos. The South Pole Telescope Summertime Line Intensity Mapper (SPT-SLIM) is being developed with miniature detectors printed onto a silicon wafer, allowing for increased sensitivity to detect faint millimeter-wave light from distant galaxies. This new instrument will serve as a pathfinder for larger future experiments, providing a more precise and accurate understanding of the universe's history.

via Phys.org|

#astrophysics #cosmology #galaxies