Although the vast distances between objects in the universe make one think they are a collection of isolated islands, our models suggest that there is a vast cosmic web of dark matter connecting every galaxy. But now, scientists have directly identified the structure in the abyss of intergalactic space.
Before this research, we saw structures through the equivalent of a light bulb (a quasar). Now we can see them without the lamp. – Christopher Martin, an astrophysicist from the California Institute of Technology
This network was created by gravity in the early stages of the universe, and hydrogen is concentrated and flows in this thin intergalactic medium. Scientists believe that this hydrogen fuels the growth of galaxies, providing them with the materials needed to form stars.
Locating this hydrogen is not easy, but it could give us information about the evolution of the universe as well as the whereabouts of dark matter. Data indicate that about 60% of the hydrogen formed during the Big Bang is present within the cosmic fabric.
The cosmic web defines the structure of our universe. This is where most of the ordinary or baryonic matter in our galaxies is located, and it points us directly to the location of dark matter.
To detect the cosmic web, scientists designed an instrument, Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI), that detects Lyman alpha emission, the signature of hydrogen when it absorbs and emits radiation. As the universe expands, the wavelength of light at greater distances tilts toward the red spectrum, and the redder the emission, the farther away the light source is. So the team created a 3D map of the light emission that took 10 to 12 billion years to reach us.
At this point in the universe’s history, everything was just taking shape, and the result is our first look at the complex cosmic web in the darkest parts of the universe.
We are very excited about this new tool that will help us learn about the most distant tissues and the time when the first stars and the first black holes formed.
The research was published in Nature astronomy.
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