An international group of astronomers recently studied galaxies at the Pec cluster to test the model "CDM", a controversial alternative to the theory of general relativity, and found disturbances in galaxy clusters of dwarf galaxies that point to another theory of gravity.
Most astronomers believe that the mysterious dark matter underlying the CDM model is the only way to explain some phenomena, such as the mass and velocity of the galaxies or simply their clutching. The standard model of cosmology suggests that most galaxies are surrounded by an oreole of dark matter particles capable of causing a strong gravitational attraction to nearby objects. Despite decades of research, the existence of dark matter has not been proven, and various alternative theories have been proposed.
One of them.
"", explains in a press release, Elena Ascencio, a Ph.D. at the University of Bonn and the first author of the discovery study, the degree of disturbance expected for these galaxies depends on the supposed law of gravity and the presence or absence of dark matter.
Observations show that many dwarf galaxies in the cluster have undergone significant deformation, as if the environment of the cluster has broken them. This is completely contrary to the standard model, since in the theory of dark matter halo, dwarf galaxies must partially protect them from the tide forces created by the surrounding galaxy.
The team first examined the expected level of destruction of dwarf galaxies: it can be determined by their internal properties and the distance from the powerful gravitational center of the cluster. For example, large low-stellar galaxies, as well as galaxies close to the center of the cluster, are more easily destroyed or even destroyed. The researchers compared their results to the magnitude of the disturbances observed in the images taken by the very large telescope of the European Southern Observatory.
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If these dwarf galaxies do not have a dark matter ore, then how did they come about? And above all, how could they resist the forces of gravity around them? Since the standard model is not suitable to explain the phenomenon, the team decided to apply a different MOND theory, which is based on the modification of Newton's Second Law. It excludes the presence of dark matter ores, but it proposes an amendment whereby gravity is "enhanced" at very low accelerations.
This model proved to be much more consistent. ', said Dr. Indranil Banique, a researcher from St Andrews University and co-author.
The team notes that this is not the first time that a study testing the influence of dark matter on the dynamics and evolution of galaxies is challenging the theory. "," says Dr. Pavel Krupa, head of the research group "Star Populations and Stellar Dynamics" at the University of Bonn.
These results obviously have serious implications for fundamental physics, and the team continues its research and looks forward to finding other highly outraged dwarf galaxies in other clusters of galaxies, inviting other research groups to explore this direction.