|
| | | | |
| | | |
| Stat |
Members: 3662
Articles: 2'599'751
Articles rated: 2609
11 December 2024 |
|
| | | | |
|
Article overview
| |
|
|
Dark matter maps reveal cosmic scaffolding | | Richard Massey
; Jason Rhodes
; Richard Ellis
; Nick Scoville
; Alexie Leauthaud
; Alexis Finoguenov
; Peter Capak
; David Bacon
; Herve Aussel
; Jean-Paul Kneib
; Anton Koekemoer
; Henry McCracken
; Bahram Mobasher
; Sandrine Pires
; Alexandre Refregier
; Shunji Sasaki
; Jean-Luc Starck
; Yoshi Taniguchi
; Andy Taylor
; James Taylor
; | | Date: |
20 Jan 2007 | | Journal: | Nature 445 (2007) 286 | | Abstract: | Ordinary baryonic particles (such as protons and neutrons) account for only one-sixth of the total matter in the Universe. The remainder is a mysterious "dark matter" component, which does not interact via electromagnetism and thus neither emits nor reflects light. As dark matter cannot be seen directly using traditional observations, very little is currently known about its properties. It does interact via gravity, and is most effectively probed through gravitational lensing: the deflection of light from distant galaxies by the gravitational attraction of foreground mass concentrations. This is a purely geometrical effect that is free of astrophysical assumptions and sensitive to all matter -- whether baryonic or dark. Here we show high fidelity maps of the large-scale distribution of dark matter, resolved in both angle and depth. We find a loose network of filaments, growing over time, which intersect in massive structures at the locations of clusters of galaxies. Our results are consistent with predictions of gravitationally induced structure formation, in which the initial, smooth distribution of dark matter collapses into filaments then into clusters, forming a gravitational scaffold into which gas can accumulate, and stars can be built. | | Source: | arXiv, astro-ph/0701594 | | Other source: | [GID 1046468] pmid17206154 | | Services: | Forum | Review | PDF | Favorites | |
|
|
No review found.
Did you like this article?
Note: answers to reviews or questions about the article must be posted in the forum section.
Authors are not allowed to review their own article. They can use the forum section.
|
| |
|
|
|
REGISTER