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Category: cosmology – Page 2

Toward new physics: First-ever double crystal channeling observed

Might two bent crystals pave the way to finding new physics? The Standard Model of particle physics describes our world at its smallest scales exceptionally well. However, it leaves some important questions unanswered, such as the imbalance between matter and antimatter, the existence of dark matter and other mysteries.

One method to find “new physics” beyond the Standard Model is to measure the properties of different particles as precisely as possible and then compare measurement with theory. If the two don’t agree, it might hint at new physics and let us slowly piece together a fuller picture of our universe—like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

An example of particles that physicists wish to study more closely are “charm baryons” such as the “Lambda-c-plus” (Λc+) which is a heavier “cousin” of the proton, consisting of three quarks: one up, one down and one charm. These particles decay after less than a trillionth of a second (10-13 s), which makes any measurement of their properties a race against time. Some of their properties have not yet been measured to high precision, leaving room for new physics to hide.

International collaboration doubles detection of cosmic collisions

An international team of researchers has announced a significant advancement in gravitational-wave astronomy, with the detection of 128 new cosmic collisions involving black holes and neutron stars.

This discovery more than doubles the number of known gravitational-wave events and marks a major milestone in our understanding of the universe.

The findings come from the latest data release by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Virgo Gravitational Wave Interferometer (Virgo) Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) collaboration, a global network of gravitational-wave observatories.

X-ray and Radio go ‘Hand in Hand’ in New Image

In 2009, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory released a captivating image: a pulsar and its surrounding nebula that is shaped like a hand. Since then, astronomers have used Chandra and other telescopes to continue to observe this object. Now, new radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) has been combined with Chandra’s X-ray data to provide a fresh view of this exploded star and its environment, to help understand its peculiar properties and shape.

At the center of this new image lies the pulsar B1509-58, a rapidly spinning neutron star that is only about 12 miles in diameter. This tiny object is responsible for producing an intricate nebula (called MSH 15–52) that spans over 150 light-years, or about 900 trillion miles. The nebula, which is produced by energetic particles, resembles a human hand with a palm and extended fingers pointing to the upper right in X-rays.

The collapse of a massive star created the pulsar when much of the star crashed inward once it burned through its sustainable nuclear fuel. An ensuing explosion sent the star’s outer layers outward into space as a supernova.

The Star That Almost Vanished: Astronomers Solve a Cosmic Mystery

Stars often reach the end of their lives and fade from view, but astronomers were left baffled when a star that had remained steady for more than ten years suddenly seemed to vanish for nearly eight months.

From late 2024 through early 2025, a star in our galaxy known as ASASSN-24fw lost about 97% of its brightness before returning to normal. The unusual dimming quickly became the subject of debate as researchers searched for an explanation behind such an extraordinary event.

An international research team, led by scientists at The Ohio State University, now believes they may have solved the puzzle. In a study recently published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics, the group reports that because the star’s color did not change during the dimming, the cause was unlikely to be related to stellar evolution. Instead, they conclude that a massive cloud of dust and gas surrounding the star blocked it from Earth’s view.

What came before the Big Bang? Supercomputers may hold the answer

Scientists are rethinking the universe’s deepest mysteries using numerical relativity, complex computer simulations of Einstein’s equations in extreme conditions. This method could help explore what happened before the Big Bang, test theories of cosmic inflation, investigate multiverse collisions, and even model cyclic universes that endlessly bounce through creation and destruction.

A new perspective on how cosmological correlations change based on kinematic parameters

To study the origin and evolution of the universe, physicists rely on theories that describe the statistical relationships between different events or fields in spacetime, broadly referred to as cosmological correlations. Kinematic parameters are essentially the data that specify a cosmological correlation—the positions of particles, or the wavenumbers of cosmological fluctuations.

Changes in cosmological correlations influenced by variations in parameters can be described using so-called differential equations. These are a type of mathematical equation that connect a function (i.e., a relationship between an input and an output) to its rate of change. In physics, these equations are used extensively as they are well-suited for capturing the universe’s highly dynamic nature.

Researchers at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, the Leung Center for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics in Taipei, Caltech’s Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, the University of Chicago, and the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa recently introduced a new perspective to approach equations describing how cosmological correlations are affected by smooth changes in kinematic parameters.

Self-consistent model incorporates gas self-gravity effects to address accretion across cosmic scales

A research team led by Prof. Jiao Chengliang at the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators, has introduced a self-consistent model that addresses long-unresolved theoretical gaps in the study of self-gravitating spherical accretion. The study was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Accretion, the fundamental astrophysical process by which matter is drawn onto a central celestial object (such as a black hole or star), underpins our understanding of phenomena ranging from to black hole growth. For decades, the classical Bondi model—developed in the 1950s and still widely used today—has served as the backbone of research.

However, this foundational framework overlooks a critical factor: the self-gravity of the gas being accreted. This omission, the researchers note, can drastically alter flow structures and accretion rates in high-density astrophysical environments, limiting the model’s accuracy in key scenarios.

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