Big Bang 'remnant' discovered

Scientists believe the object to be a remnant of the big bang

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Friday, 26, Oct 2007 10:00

Scientists believe they may have discovered a cosmic remnant from the big bang, potentially leading to new insights into how the universe developed.

An unusual cold spot has been found in the oldest radiation of the universe and it is proposed that it was caused by a defect created just after the big bang.

The remnant is believed to be a texture, defects in the structure of the vacuum left over from the early universe.

Scientists from the Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA) and the University of Cambridge studied possible explanations for the cold spot but could not find a convincing argument to back these up.

After performing large scale simulations using the Cosmos supercomputer at Cambridge to compare theory with the event, the scientists concluded that the texture hypothesis is the most plausible explanation for the cold spot.

"The possibility that this is a texture is very exciting," said Professor Neil Turok. "If it is, it will revolutionise our understanding of how the fundamental symmetries between the particles and forces were broken as the universe emerged from the big bang.

"The current data is suggestive but not yet compelling. There are a number of follow-up tests which can be made with future data. It's a very testable hypothesis and we will know the answer within the next decade."

Joanne Baker, associate editor at Science which is publishing the study, commented: "These findings open up the possibility of looking for cosmic defects, similar to crystal defects, in the fabric of the universe.

"Although their existence has been proposed by theorists for decades, no defects have been seen. The jury is still out on the cold spot's origin, but this surprising finding will be testable and may lead to new views of the cosmos in its infancy in years to come."