Professor Geraint Lewis of the University of Sydney’s Department of Physics used distant quasars – active, supermassive black holes at the centers of ancient galaxies – to measure the passage of time in the early universe. Thus, scientists had the opportunity for the first time Watch the early universe in slow motion. They confirmed one of the conclusions of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
General relativity indicates that time in the early universe should have been slower than it is now. But digging into the depths of space and time has been difficult. Therefore, scientists used quasars as accurate clocks. Looking back to a time when the universe was just over a billion years old, time seems to run five times slower than it does now.Lewis says. If we were out there in this young universe, one second would feel like one second, but from our location, 12 billion years later, we see that early time stretcheshe adds.
Professor Lewis, in collaboration with Dr Brendon Brewer of the University of Auckland, examined data on nearly 200 quasars and analyzed their cosmic time dilation. Thanks to Einstein, we know that time and space are entwined and that the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. The expansion of space means that from our vantage point we should see time in the early universe flow more slowly than it does nowLewis adds. Scholars in the pages nature They described what they observed in a universe about a billion years old.
Astronomers previously confirmed that time used to move slower with supernovae. However, they only allowed to go back in time to about half the age of the universe. On the other hand, quasars give us a glimpse into the distant past. This confirmed that the universe is accelerating as it ages. Imagine setting off a firework. It’s bright but it fades in a few seconds, it’s a supernova. Now let’s imagine a whole fireworks display, its brightness varies and there’s a lot going on thereLewis explains. If we watch many of these shows, we’ll notice a pattern. Such a pattern has been found by Lewis and Brewer.
Scientists analyzed data collected over two decades on 190 quasars. They looked at them in streaks of green, red and infrared light. They grouped them according to their brightness and redshift, which is how far they are from us. Then they compared quasars from each group with each other and noted that they showed similar patterns of activity over certain time periods. Scientists used these patterns as a clock and found that the oldest observed quasars, dating back about 12 billion years, appear to be running about five times slower than modern quasars. They confirmed it Quasars behave over time as predicted by Einstein’s theory.
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