An international team of researchers led by Maria Giovanna Dinotti, Associate Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), has developed a new way to model cosmic parameters based on known statistical data using a supercomputer. It is supposed that it will help to look not only into the past, but also into the distant future of the Universe.
The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal and is briefly described by Phys.org. The generally accepted theory is that the universe started expanding from the moment it appeared and is still expanding. However, scientists don’t know if it will expand indefinitely or will one day return to its original state.
Perhaps a fundamentally new area of statistical research, described in a new study, will help find the answer to this question. It was developed using the capabilities of a supercomputer. To follow the expansion process of the Universe, scientists need reference points. The more reliable they are, the more accurate the measurements will be.
The new study reportedly provides the scientific community with refined parameters with which to closely monitor not only the expansion of the universe, but also monitor and identify the processes that affect it. The developed method will help astronomers look into the past and determine exactly how the universe grew to its current size. It is also designed to help understand how the Universe will develop in the future.
As reference points, the researchers took known sources of cosmic radiation, including quasars, supernovae, and rapid gamma-ray bursts (sudden bursts of powerful radiation, the nature of which remains largely a mystery). These objects are called “standard candles”. Knowing the initial brightness of an object, the distance to it at any time, including the past and future, can be calculated.
In the new study, the scientists analyzed data from several “standard sails,” calculated their distance, and plotted them on a spatial map. The results obtained made it possible to reduce the “uncertainty of key parameters” by up to 35 percent. The refined benchmarks will help determine whether the universe will expand forever or begin to contract and return to the state in which it all began.
