Detection of Cosmic Effect Brings Universe’s Formation Into Focus

Detection of Cosmic Effect Brings Universe’s Formation Into Focus

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A large research team from two major astronomy surveys reports in a paper submitted to the journal Physical Review Letters that scientists detected the movement of distant galaxy clusters via the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (kSZ) effect, which has never before been seen. Now that it has been detected, the kSZ effect could prove to be an exceptional tool for understanding the forces behind the universe’s formation and growth and for measuring the velocity of objects in the distant universe. It could provide insight into the strength of the gravitational forces pulling on galaxy clusters and other bodies. Chief among these forces are the still-hypothetical dark energy and dark matter, which are thought to drive the universe’s expansion and the motions of galaxies.

In addition, the strength of the kSZ effect’s signal depends on the distribution of electrons in and around galaxies. As a result, the effect also can be used to trace the location of atoms in the nearby universe, which can reveal how galaxies form.