DESI is an ambitious project using 5000 tiny robotic fibers to map the cosmos back 11 billion years. It is collecting light from distant galaxies and quasars to create the largest 3D map of the universe’s structure and expansion history.
DESI’s first year data provides unprecedented precision in measuring how fast the universe expanded over time. Understanding how our universe has evolved is linked to how it ends, and to one of the greatest mysteries of physics: dark energy, the unknown ingredient that makes our universe expand faster and faster.
However, subtle differences are seen when combined with other data, compared to what our main Lambda CDM model predicts. As DESI gathers more data, these results will help show if we need to modify the model.
The Lambda CDM model includes both normal and dark matter, which slow expansion, as well as dark energy that accelerates it. But dark energy’s physical nature remains a mystery. DESI’s precision may offer new insights into dark energy’s behavior and help solve this key puzzle.
Researchers also hope to better measure the Hubble constant and neutrino masses. Understanding neutrinos’ tiny masses could reveal new physics, since they subtly affected the early universe despite rarely interacting. DESI may provide the most stringent limits yet on their masses from cosmological data alone.
DESI involves over 900 scientists worldwide. Its robotic positioners each night map galaxies and quasars farther than ever before seen. Spectra reveal objects’ velocities and distances, allowing expansion measurements over time. Researchers use subtle galaxy clustering patterns like baryon acoustic oscillations as a “cosmic ruler” across billions of years.
Future goals include mapping 3 million quasars and 37 million galaxies. Quasars illuminate gas clouds farther than galaxies, extending measurements to the earliest epoch. Careful analyses account for uncertainties to enable robust model comparisons. Statistical techniques extract the tightest cosmological constraints possible from DESI’s unprecedented data volume and resolution.
DESI promises to characterize the universe’s evolution with unmatched fidelity. Its wealth of information on dark energy, dark matter, and neutrinos will test physics at the grandest scales.
By charting cosmic history with greater power and precision than ever thought possible, DESI aims to resolve lingering mysteries and shed light on the ultimate fate of the universe.
Sources
Lauren Biron, The most precise measurement of our expanding universe (University of Michigan) | DESI Early Data Release Studies
- Share on:
Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Bismarck Towers: A Monumental Phenomenon Spanning Four Continents
The construction of 184 monuments in honor of Otto von Bismarck between 1869 and 1934 in Germany seems logical. After all, the “Iron Chancellor” was the architect of German unification,…
A Shipwreck from the 6th Century BC, Stone and Iron Anchors, Found Off the Southern Coast of Sicily
A highly significant archaeological discovery has come to light in the waters of Santa Maria del Focallo, in the municipality of Ispica, Ragusa province, Sicily. During an underwater excavation campaign,…
A heroon with intact tombs filled with luxurious jewels and lions sculpted in Pentelic marble, found in the ancient Greek city of Ripes in Achaea
At the beginning of October, the systematic archaeological excavation season concluded on the Trapezá plateau, located eight kilometers southwest of Aigio, Greece. This site is identified with the ancient city…
Statue Possibly Representing Cleopatra VII and Numerous Coins Featuring Her Effigy Found at the Temple of Taposiris Magna, West of Alexandria
The Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission, led by Dr. Kathleen Martínez in collaboration with the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), has made new discoveries at the Temple of Taposiris Magna, located…
Roman Soldier Flaccus’ Tomb Discovered in the Netherlands, Dating to the Late 1st Century BCE
In late November 2024, during archaeological investigations conducted in Heerlen (Netherlands), an exceptional discovery was made: the tomb of a Roman soldier named Flaccus. This find, dating to the late…
The Mystery of the Mardaites: The Christian Highlanders Who Maintained Their Autonomy Between Byzantium and the Caliphate
In the province of Hatay, in southern Turkey, there is a mountain range locally known as Nur Dağları. Arabs call it Jabal al-Lukkam, and in Spanish, its Greek name, Amanus,…
The Jaxartes River, the Battle Where Alexander Defeated the Scythians Using Catapults, Wounded and with Nearly His Entire Army Sick with Dysentery
As its name indicates, the Spanish Cape of Finisterre (finis terrae) was considered in Antiquity as the westernmost limit of the known world. But where was the eastern border located…
Nature of the Enigmatic “Armas de la tierra” of the Coronado Expedition in the 16th Century Revealed
Recent research has unveiled the nature of the weaponry used by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition (which crossed the present-day U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas),…
A Megalography Depicting a Rare Mythological Scene of Achilles and Bronze Statuettes Found in a Roman “Domus” in Reims
The urban organization of Durocortorum, the Gallo-Roman city now known as Reims in France, faithfully adhered to the principles of Roman urbanism. The city was divided into blocks bounded by…
Neolithic Rondel Found in Poland Reveals These Ceremonial Centers May Have Been Managed by Organizations Similar to Secret Societies 7,000 Years Ago
An archaeological discovery in the locality of Nowe Objezierze, in the northwest of Poland, has led to a significant breakthrough in understanding the Neolithic societies of Central Europe. An interdisciplinary…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
