Lifeboat Foundation

The Computational Cosmology group of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (DAA) of Valencia University (UV) has published an article in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, one of the international journals with the greatest impact in Astrophysics, which shows, with complex theoretical-computational models, that cosmic voids are constantly replenished with external matter.

“This totally unexpected result can have transcendental implications, not only for our understanding of the large-scale structure of the universe, but on the settings for the creation and evolution of galaxies,” explains Vicente Quilis, director at the DAA and head researcher for the project.

“Cosmic voids are the largest structures in the cosmos, and knowledge on their creation and evolution is essential to understand the structure of the universe,” says Susana Planelles, co-director of the research. Studying them as a physical occurrence has always been extremely complex precisely due to being large volumes with very low material content. From an observational point of view, analyzing the few existing items inside them is very hard, and the theoretical modeling of these occurrences is no less complex, which is why highly simplified descriptions of these structures are used.

Spoiler: We are still a ‘Type Zero’ civilization.

The Kardashev scale was extended to accommodate type IV and V civilization. Energy output in type V civilization would be tremendous. Possible wormholes, time travel, and teleportation. Breaking the second law of thermodynamics would be the easiest way to progress. Maxwell’s demon thought experiment presents this hypothesis.

A Type V civilization would be advanced enough to to escape their universe of origin and explore the multiverse. Such a civilization would have mastered technology to a point where they could simulate or build a custom universe. They will have mastered the new laws of physics and have almost complete control over the fabric of reality. Now, humanity is basically impossible to destroy by its own inhabitants, which has reached the decillions. The Q Continuum from Star Trek The Daleks and Time Lord.

Remember the philosophical argument our universe is a simulation? Well, a team of astrophysicists say they’ve created the biggest simulated universe yet. But you won’t find any virtual beings in it—or even planets or stars.

The simulation is 9.6 billion light-years to a side, so its smallest structures are still enormous (the size of small galaxies). The model’s 2.1 trillion particles simulate the dark matter glue holding the universe together.

Continue reading “The Biggest Simulation of the Universe Yet Stretches Back to the Big Bang” »

In order to explore the mysteries of our universe, we need to look at it in different ways. Astrophysics missions like SPHEREx and Euclid will use infrared astronomy to deepen our knowledge of unseen phenomena, such as inflation and dark matter. Join us as we explore how infrared observations are changing our understanding of the cosmos and its origins.

Speakers:
–Dida Markovic, Research Scientist, NASA/JPL
–Dr. Phil Korngut, Research Scientist at Caltech.
SPHEREx instrument scientist.

Continue reading “The Warm Glow of our Cool Universe (Live Public Talk)” »

“While there have been published doubts raised about the accuracy of some of this CMB data, taken at face value it appears we may not have the right understanding, and it changes how big the Hubble constant should be today,” Riess said at the time.

“This surprising finding may be an important clue to understanding those mysterious parts of the universe that make up 95% of everything and don’t emit light, such as dark energy, dark matter and dark radiation.” Given its breadth and scope, astronomers around the world have taken the findings of Riess and his colleagues very seriously. After all, in 2011 Riess had shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for the initial discovery that the universe wasn’t just expanding, but that the rate at which it was doing so was also increasing.

Erik Verlinde of the University of Amsterdam has spent much of his time since 2010 attempting to develop a totally new theory of gravity, one that explains such observations without the need to invoke the likes of dark matter and dark energy. This resulted in his theory of emergent gravity, so-called because gravity is not a fundamental force after all, but an emergent phenomenon, similar to temperature emerging from the movement of particles.

We can consider white holes and black holes to be the two sides of the same coin. A perfect pair of antonyms. White holes first found their place, like many others, in Einstein’s theory of relativity. But it was left just there until theorists began pondering over its existence quite recently.

What is a white hole?

Insight, a white hole looks exactly like a black hole. It has mass, probably a ring of dust and gas around it. But the similarities end there. According to Carlo Ravelli, a theoretical physicist at the Centre de Physique Theorique in France, “It’s only in the moment when things come out that you can say, ‘ah, this is a white hole,”.

There can be other kinds of black holes that trap other physical phenomena, like sound waves, and these kinds of black holes, known as sonic black holes, might be critical to understanding their light-consuming counterparts in the wider universe.

Most important of all, what can sonic black holes tell us about one of modern physics’ most contentious debates, the so-called Information Paradox? A recent study attempted to find out, and its results seem to make the problem more complicated, not less.

ESA’s Euclid mission has reached a new milestone in its development with successful testing of the telescope and instruments showing that it can operate and achieve the required performance in the extreme environment of space.

Euclid will study dark energy and dark matter. Whilst these cannot be seen directly by any telescope, their presence and influence can be inferred by observing the large scale distribution of galaxies in the universe.

Continue reading “Euclid telescope ready for extreme space environment” »