An international astronomer team has discovered an unusual Einstein Crossshowing five points of light instead of the usual four. This rare cosmic alignment, linked to a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journaloffers new opportunities to examine the elusive Dark matter Surrounding galaxies.
A rare cosmic phenomenon develops
The discovery began when Rutgers’ theoretical astrophysicists Charles Keeton He received an intriguing image of his colleague. “Have you ever seen an Einstein cross with an image in the middle?” Your colleague Andrew Baker He asked, referring to a rarely seen cosmic configuration. The image showed a fifth point of light in the center, an anomaly that immediately captured the attention of the team. “I said, well, that is not supposed to happen,” he said KeetonVice Provost for experimental learning at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. “You cannot get a fifth image in the center unusual that something unusual is happening with the dough that bends the light.”
This configuration occurs when the severity of the galaxies in the foreground bends the light of a distant galaxy, which generally creates four visible images. The presence of a fifth image suggested an invisible and massive structure at stake. The team identified this as a Dark matter haloA confirmed discovery through detailed computer modeling and analysis.
Detect the invisible with advanced observatories
The initial observation was made in France using the Northern Millimeter Matrix (NOEM). “We were like, ‘what the hell?'” He said Pierre CoxAn astronomer and French research director at the National Center for Scientific Research in France, who first noticed the anomaly. “It seemed like a cross, and there was this image in the center. I knew I had never seen that before.”
To confirm its findings, the team used the Atacama Grand Matrix Millimeter/Submilimeter (Alma) In Chile. The observations revealed the distant and dusty galaxy Hers-3 dividing into five images of light. Initially, astronomers considered instrumental errors, but repeated measurements verified that the fifth image was real. These high precision data allowed them to investigate Dark Matter gravitational effects rarely possible only with visible matter.
Modeling hidden dark matter
Once the anomaly was confirmed, Keeton and Rutgers graduated student Eid wool used extensive computer modeling to test several configurations. “We tried each reasonable configuration using only visible galaxies, and none of them worked,” he said KeetonAlso professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “The only way to make mathematics and physics align was to add a halo of dark matter. That is the power of modeling. It helps to reveal what it cannot see.”
These simulations showed that the invisible halo not only produced the fifth central image but also increased the background galaxy. Such an increase provides astronomers with a unique lens to study the structure and internal composition of the galaxy with unprecedented details. The models also offer counterfeit predictions, such as the Gas output of Hers-3, which can be tested in future observations to refine our understanding of the distribution of cosmic mass.
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