Astronomers at the University of Hawai'i discovered an enormous cosmic bubble they named Hoʻoleilana, which is about 820 million light years away and believed to be a relic from the universe's birth, aligning with the Big Bang theory.
This discovery challenges theoretical expectations, as the bubble's size and proximity suggest a higher expansion rate of the universe than anticipated. The bubble's unexpected detection occurred within a network of galaxies during an analysis of the sky's sector.
Discovering Cosmic Bubbles of Matter
In the Big Bang theory's early stages, the universe was a hot plasma for around 400,000 years, with electrons separating from nuclei. This caused regions of higher density to collapse due to gravity, while radiation countered it, leading to plasma oscillations and outward ripples.
The size of these primordial ripples depended on the distance sound waves could travel, which was determined by the plasma's speed of sound. This distance was nearly 500 million light years and became fixed once the universe transitioned from a plasma state, leaving behind vast three-dimensional ripples.
Over time, galaxies formed in areas of higher density, taking shape within expansive bubble-like structures. Skillful analysis of galaxy distribution patterns can unlock insights into these ancient phenomena.
Daniel Pomarede, a researcher from CEA Paris-Saclay University in France, noted his role as the team's cartographer. He emphasized the significance of mapping Hoʻoleilana in three dimensions, shedding light on its composition and relationship with the surrounding cosmos.
Pomarede marveled at how this colossal shell structure, Hoʻoleilana, consists of elements previously identified as some of the universe's most massive structures.
The same research team made another significant discovery in 2014, identifying the Laniākea Supercluster, which includes our Milky Way. While Laniākea is substantial with a diameter of around 500 million light years, it only extends to the near edge of the much larger Hoʻoleilana bubble.
In the study, titled "Ho'oleilana: An Individual Baryon Acoustic Oscillation?" published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers
reported using data from Cosmicflows-4, the largest compilation of precise galaxy distances, to locate the enormous bubble.
This remarkable catalog, co-published by Brent Tully in fall 2022, potentially marks the first time astronomers have identified a structure linked to Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). The discovery carries significance for understanding galaxy evolution.
Well-Known Clusters Also Found in the Cosmic Bubble
During their investigation, the research team discovered that a 2016 research paper had previously mentioned Hoʻoleilana as one of several shell-like structures observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. However, this prior study did not offer a complete understanding of Hoʻoleilana's structure and did not definitively identify it as a Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO).
By harnessing data from the Cosmicflows-4 catalog, the current study conducted a comprehensive examination of a spherical shell composed of galaxies, focusing on the central region of the bubble.
This bubble encompasses several well-known clusters recognized by astronomers, including the Harvard/Smithsonian Great Wall, which houses the Coma Cluster, the Hercules Cluster, and the Sloan Great Wall, with the Boötes Supercluster at its core.
That means Hoʻoleilana's size was found to be slightly larger than what the standard model of cosmology theory and prior statistical pairwise studies of galaxy separations had anticipated. This size alignment corresponds with observations of the local expansion rate of the universe and the flows of galaxies on large scales, which also suggest subtle challenges to the standard model.
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