A Strange Twist in the Universe’s Oldest Light May Be Bigger than We Thought
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7 Articles
A strange twist in the universe’s oldest light may be bigger than we thought
Scientists studying a mysterious effect called cosmic birefringence—a subtle twist in the polarization of the universe’s oldest light—have developed a new way to reduce uncertainty in how it’s measured. This faint rotation in the cosmic microwave background could point to entirely new physics, including hidden particles such as axions and clues about dark matter or dark energy.
Light that has traveled through space for 13.8 billion years may reveal the signature of entirely new physics. Scientists are investigating whether the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation has actually rotated in space, or whether astronomers are being tricked by their own telescopes.
Is the Universe Twisted A New Check on a Possible Twist in the Universe’s Oldest Light - Business News Week
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the universe’s oldest light, leftover thermal radiation from about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Maps of the CMB offer a picture of the “baby universe” as it was 13.8 billion years ago. About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the scattering of radiation by free electrons generated a […] The post Is the Universe Twisted A New Check on a Possible Twist in the Universe’s Oldest Light first appeared on Bu…
Tiny angle of rotation, big question: Previous analyses indicate that the polarization of the cosmic background radiation could be twisted by only a few tenths of a degree. A new calibration check independent of the absolute rotation does not find a significant contradiction in eight Planck data sets. This strengthens the calibration basis of the signal, but does not confirm the cosmic double refraction independently. La Jolla (U.S.A.). The cosm…
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