Australian Scientists have gathered evidence that our universe is constantly vibrating. They used the largest gravitational wave detector to confirm the earlier reports that there is an ongoing rumble which is likely caused by ‘black holes’ at the center of galaxies colliding with each other.
The detector looked at several rapidly spinning neutron stars across the galaxy and discovered that the gravitational wave background might be louder than previously thought.
This study carried out by Matthew Miles, Swinburne University of Technology and Rowina Nathan, Monash University, was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time. The collision of incredibly dense and massive objects, such as black holes, creates these waves. To study black holes, scientists look for these gravitational waves which are emitted when the black holes orbit around or near each other.
The biggest black holes emit the slowest and most powerful waves. Scientists didn’t know about their existence until last year. The current detector on Earth can notice high-frequency gravitational waves which occur when smaller black holes collide.
In their latest paper findings suggest that the universe is more active than anticipated.
Blackholes
Supermassive black holes, directly observed once for the first time in 2019, are believed to exist at the center of most galaxies. They are billions of times the mass of our sun, and hard to study.
“When two galaxies merge, the black holes at their centers begin to spiral toward each other. In this process they send out slow, powerful gravitational waves that give an opportunity to study them,” the authors said.
They did so by using another cosmic wonder called pulsars. These are like lighthouses in space that spin hundreds of times per second and send out pulses of radiation from far away. So, Pulsars are ‘ cosmic lighthouses ‘ that when seen from Earth appear to be flickering stars, but actually consist of exotic stellar remnants.
Astronomers used the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa to observe these spinning lighthouses. The MeerKAT telescope is an array of 64 interconnected receptors. A receptor is the complete antenna structure, with the main reflector, sub-reflector and all receivers, digitizers and other electronics installed. The configuration (placement) of the receptors is determined by the scientific objectives of the telescope.
This telescope was originally known as the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT) that would consist of 20 receptors. When the South African government increased the budget to allow the building of 64 receptors, the team re-named it “MeerKAT” – ie “more of KAT”. The MeerKAT (scientific name Suricata suricatta) is also a much beloved small mammal that lives in the Karoo region.
The authors said, “If we observe many pulsars over the same period of time, and we’re wrong about when the pulses hit us in a very specific way, then we know a gravitational wave is stretching or squeezing the space between the Earth and the pulsars.”
“Instead of seeing just one wave, we expect to see a cosmic ocean full of waves crisscrossing in all directions: the echoing ripples of all the galactic mergers in the history of the universe.”
MeerKAT helped them find a pattern associated with a gravitational wave background and led them to something never seen before. “The pattern representing how space and time between Earth and the pulsars changes due to gravitational waves passing between them is more powerful than we expected,” they said.
This led them to conclude that there are a lot more supermassive black holes than earlier imagined. They created detailed maps of the gravitational wave background using their data. Scientists also think that these waves might be coming from other sources, such as the early universe, or other cosmic events. So, if we question ourselves, Is empty space really empty? We can say and discover the hidden energy, particles, and forces that fill the vast ‘void’ of space. The universe is more alive than we think!
Educationist/Administrator/Editor/Author/Speaker
Commencing teaching in his early twenties, Prof Aggarwal has diverse experience of great tenure in the top institutions not only as an educationist, administrator, editor, author but also promoting youth and its achievements through the nicest possible content framing. A revolutionary to the core, he is also keen to address the society around him for its betterment and growth on positive notes while imbibing the true team spirit the work force along with.
Comments