The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the light that scientists believe propagated through the universe at the moment just cool enough for ions and electrons to combine to form atoms, only 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
A recent study published in Physical Review Letters found a polarization effect in the cosmic microwave background data. According to the researchers, this means that the theory of parity symmetry will be broken and a new physics theory will be necessary to explain it.
The standard model of modern physics, which refers to the conservation of parity, says that if the universe is flipped over, it will have a mirror effect and all the laws of physics will still apply. The weak interaction between subatomic particles in radioactive decay is the only exception allowed within the scope of this theory. Any other exceptions found to break the cosmic conservation would be beyond the scope of the standard model of physics to explain. That is, a new theory of physics would need to be constructed.
This study found that there are anomalous polarized light phenomena in the cosmic microwave background data. Polarized light is a phenomenon that occurs when light striking an object is refracted in a certain direction. Glass and water surfaces all polarize light, such as the familiar polarized sunglasses, which are examples of how this principle comes in handy for people in their lives. The rainbow is an example of the effect of polarization in nature.
At the beginning of the universe, only 380,000 years after the Big Bang, scientists speculate that the universe was so hot and dense that no atoms existed. At that time, the universe was filled with protons, electrons, ionized plasma, etc., and was opaque, like a dense fog.
After this, when the universe cools down to a certain level, protons and electrons will combine to give birth to neutral hydrogen atoms, and only then will the universe start to transmit light, that is, photons will start to travel freely.
In this critical process, scientists speculate that photons hitting electrons will be refracted, resulting in a polarized effect of the cosmic microwave background light. So this partial polarization effect holds information about that critical transition phase in the early universe. Scientists are particularly interested in whether these rays are deflected at an angle.
The scientists call this angle beta and believe it will reveal information about the interaction of dark matter and dark energy with the CMB of early cosmic light. “If there is any break in cosmological conservation in the interaction of dark matter or dark energy with the cosmic microwave background light, we will be able to find features from the polarization data.” said Yuto Minami of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (HERAO) in Japan, one of the principal investigators.
Previously, scientists were unclear whether the polarization features seen in the data were due to a deflection of the detector angle or a true beta deflection angle within the light data.
This group found a way to observe light from the Milky Way using the same detectors. Because the light from within the Milky Way reaches Earth on a relatively short journey, it can be neglected to be affected by dark matter or dark energy, and observing any deflection that appears in these data suggests deflection by the observing instrument.
So the researchers subtracted the instrumental deflections from the CMB data, and the remainder is the beta deflection of light from the early universe that scientists want to understand.
The study says that the beta deflection value obtained using this approach is not zero, with a 99.2% certainty. That seems high, but for a new physical discovery to be announced, the certainty must be 99.99995 percent.
The discovery means that the CMB data is a worthwhile direction for researchers to continue drilling, the researchers said. Another researcher, astrophysicist Eiichiro Komatsu of the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe in Japan, said. “Obviously we have not yet found conclusive evidence to announce new discoveries in physics, but we are excited that our new method finally allows us to make measurements that would not otherwise be possible and to see that this may hold new physics questions.”
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