A doctoral student in the United Kingdom has made an unexpected discovery that challenges some basic assumptions in cosmology. Alexia Lopez, a student at the University of Central Lancashire, has found evidence of an immense ring-like structure in the distant universe. Known as the Big Ring on the Sky, it is over 9 billion light-years from Earth and stretches over 1.3 billion light-years in diameter.

To put its enormous scale in perspective, if we could see the Big Ring directly, it would take about 15 full Moons lined up tip to tip to cover its diameter. This makes it the second ultra-large structure discovered by Alexia – two years ago, she found another enormous object called the Giant Arc on the Sky, which is over 3.3 billion light-years wide.

Even more surprisingly, the Big Ring and Giant Arc seem to be located near each other in space. They are seen at the same distance from Earth and same time period in the universe’s history. In the night sky, the two structures are separated by only 12 degrees. Finding two such huge features so close together was completely unexpected based on current cosmological theories.

The Big Ring is centered near 0 on the x-axis, spanning approximately -650 to +650 on the x-axis (equivalent to 1.3 billion light years)
The Big Ring is centered near 0 on the x-axis, spanning approximately -650 to +650 on the x-axis (equivalent to 1.3 billion light years) | photo University of Central Lancashire

Alexia’s discovery challenges some commonly held beliefs. For one, it goes against the Cosmological Principle, which assumes the universe looks roughly the same in all directions on the largest scales. These massive structures imply certain regions might not follow the expected uniform distribution of matter. Their sizes also far exceed the predicted theoretical limit for cosmic structures.

Scientists are struggling to explain the ring and arc within the standard cosmological model. One idea is that they could be linked to primordial density fluctuations known as baryon acoustic oscillations, which arose from sound waves in the early universe. But detailed analysis showed the Big Ring is not spherical like expected and is simply too large to be explained this way.

Other possibilities that have been proposed include cyclic conformal cosmology, a theory put forward by Nobel Prize winner Sir Roger Penrose. Another proposal is that cosmic strings – enormous topological defects hypothetically created in the early universe – may have played a role through their gravitational effects. Some think both structures together could form an even more extraordinary cosmological system.

Alexia Lopez, the discoverer of both ultra-large structures
Alexia Lopez, the discoverer of both ultra-large structures | photo University of Central Lancashire

Alexia made her discoveries by examining data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Looking for patterns of magnesium-II absorption illuminated by distant quasars acting as bright backlights, she was able to detect the incredibly faint intervening galaxies comprising the structures.

At the American Astronomical Society meeting in January, she presented her findings on the Big Ring to the worldwide astronomy community.

Both the Giant Arc and now the Big Ring provide fascinating mysteries as we strive to map out the universe’s evolution. Existing 9 billion years in the past when the cosmos was half its current age, they offer a window into an epoch we are only beginning to understand. Alexia’s groundbreaking work highlights how much remains unknown and pushes the frontiers of knowledge.

Sources

University of Central Lancashire

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