An international collaboration of scientists from Durham University in the UK, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland has produced the first comprehensive dark matter map using observational data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has provided unprecedented insight into the role of dark matter in the formation of stars, galaxies, and planets like Earth.
The paper in Nature Astronomy, presents the first-ever detailed analysis of how dark matter formed an invisible network of gravitational forces that eventually caused ordinary matter to accumulate into the first stars and galaxies. This network caused galaxies such as our own Milky Way to form at an earlier time than they would have. This created the conditions necessary to create planets and the potential for life as we know it today.
The researchers produced an updated map of dark matter that confirms previous studies and has also revealed additional connections between dark matter and all the other visible matter in the Universe.
Following the Big Bang, it is believed that both dark matter and normal matter were spread out over a very large volume. After a time, the formation of dark matter coalesced, and the gravitational pull of dark matter caused the normal matter to be attracted to it.
A significant part of the early Universe’s structure is a result of dark matter shaping the Universe’s early history. Researchers believe that dark matter is a major contributory factor in the formation, evolution, and structure of the Universe, in particular to stars and galaxies. The presence of dark matter affects how we see the Universe.
“By revealing dark matter with unprecedented precision, our map shows how an invisible component of the Universe has structured visible matter to the point of enabling the emergence of galaxies, stars, and ultimately life itself,” said research co-lead author Dr Gavin Leroy, from the Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University.
Dr. Leroy and his colleagues also point out that dark matter enables the formation of complex structures in the Universe, such as galaxies and, in the case of the Milky Way, other galaxies.
Dr. Leroy said the initial mapping of dark matter shows it has a huge impact on how we see and understand the Universe, in terms of what we can perceive through our telescopes. “The mapping we produced shows the actual structure of dark matter in the Universe and how it works as a whole.”
The authors of this new research note that dark matter can only be detected by studying the effects of gravitational lensing, not through direct observation. Thus, researchers must use indirect techniques to study dark matter.
Because of the limitations of current telescopes, the researchers used techniques that measure the bending of space caused by dark matter through many galaxies and galaxies.
Using these two techniques, scientists have determined that dark matter cannot be distributed randomly throughout the Universe. Instead, it has been organizing itself based on gravity for billions of years.
In the future, the researchers hope to continue the work started in this project to produce a more detailed map of dark matter distribution and to model how dark matter has organized itself in the future.
Satellite imagery of the COSMOS Field shows that “dark matter is found in all areas of our Universe wherever normal matter is today,” explains Massey. “Billions of dark matter particles pass through your body every second with absolutely no effects. They skip over you and continue on.”
“The entire dark matter ‘cloud’ surrounding our Milky Way Galaxy is so massive and filled with gravity that it holds our Galaxy together. Without it, our Galaxy would simply break apart from spinning too rapidly.”
“Webb has focused its high-quality observations on a patch of sky called the COSMOS Field,” continues Massey. “The COSMOS Field is an area that has been studied and mapped for decades across multiple wavelengths and is located almost directly on our celestial Equator.”
The new map focuses on a patch of sky known as the COSMOS field, one of the most studied regions in astronomy. Located near the celestial equator, this area has been observed for decades across many wavelengths.
Using Webb, scientists spent about 255 hours observing a region of sky about two and a half times larger than the full Moon, in the constellation Sextans. The telescope identified nearly 800,000 galaxies, many seen for the first time.
Webb’s sharp vision allowed researchers to detect about 10 times more galaxies than ground-based observatories and twice as many as the Hubble Space Telescope. This high number of galaxies made it possible to build a dark matter map with far greater detail.
Research co-lead author Dr. Diana Scognamiglio, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the improvement is dramatic.
“This is the largest dark matter map we’ve made with Webb, and it’s twice as sharp as any dark matter map made by other observatories,” Scognamiglio told The Brighter Side of News. “Previously, we were looking at a blurry picture of dark matter. Now we’re seeing the invisible scaffolding of the Universe in stunning detail, thanks to Webb’s incredible resolution.”
The map shows bright regions where very dense concentrations of matter occur and dark areas where matter has a very low density. Most important, the map provides clear identification of previously known galaxy clusters and reveals numerous smaller-sized clumps of dark matter that were not seen on previous maps.
Several of these new features coincide with visible galaxies and hot gas detected via X-ray technologies. Other new features have little or no visible counterpart. This likely suggests that they may consist predominantly of dark matter or consist of multiple structures aligned along our line of sight.
Additionally, through Webb’s performance, scientists are now finding the long, very faint filaments linking massive clusters in such cases. These filaments form part of a cosmic web, the vast network of physical material through which matter flows as galaxies grow.
Thus far, due to their diffuse, weak nature, it has been very challenging to detect such structures in the past.
To improve accurate distances to galaxies within the map, scientists used Webb’s Mid-Infrared Imaging (MIRI). The Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham University developed this instrument and designed and managed it through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to launch.
The characteristics of MIRI are useful for locating galaxies that lie behind cosmic dust.
The ongoing work to map dark matter over larger areas of the sky will be accomplished through continued efforts, including upcoming observations combining data collected from the European Space Agency’s Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
These missions will assist researchers in their study of how properties of dark matter have evolved over time. The COSMOS map created with Webb will serve as a reference point for future dark matter maps.
This study offers the highest resolution available so far of the cosmic ‘invisible skeleton,’ representing a significant advancement in understanding the way everything we see today, and beyond, becomes part of our Universe.
In addition to its ability to deepen scientists’ understanding of the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, the study provides valuable information regarding the formation and existence of the Milky Way and Earth.
By demonstrating how dark matter shapes the structure of the Universe, scientists can further test their theories about the evolution of the Universe and the nature of gravity.
This detailed dark matter map provides the groundwork for future space missions that will continue to expand our understanding of the properties of dark matter and the role of dark matter over time. Although dark matter itself will not directly impact our lives, understanding dark matter will improve our understanding of the past and future of the Universe, and how we understand our role as humans within the Cosmos.
Research findings are available online in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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