Dark matter filaments detected for the first time

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A view of the distribution of dark matter in our universe, based on the Millennium Simulation. The simulation is based on our current ideas about the universe's origin and evolution. It included ten billion particles, and consumed 343,000 cpu-hours (Image: Virgo Consortium)

A filament of dark matter has been directly detected between the galaxy clusters Abell 222 and Abell 223. The blue shading and yellow contour lines represent the density of matter Photo: (Jörg Dietrich, U-M Department of Physics)

The universe within a billion light years of Earth, showing local superclusters of galaxies - approximately 63 million galaxies are shown (Image: Richard Powell)

Composite astrograph of the Abell 222 and 223 galaxy clusters as seen in visible light and by x-rays - the filament of dark matter between the two is suggested by the hot x-ray emitting gas (shown in dark red) gathered along the filament (Image: ESA/ XMM-Newton/ EPIC/ ESO (J. Dietrich)/ SRON (N. Werner)/ MPE (A. Finoguenov)

Bending light around a massive object from a distant source. The orange arrows show the apparent position of the background source. The white arrows show the path of the light from the true position of the source (Photo: Space Telescope Science Institute [STScI])

Image of a distant (~10 Gly]) galaxy as seen through the gravitational lens of the galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623. On the right appears a reconstructed image of the distant galaxy obtained by subtracting (approximately) the distorting effects of the gravitational lens (Photo: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI))

The distribution of normal matter as seen by the XMM-Newton x-ray space telescope (Photo: ESA)

Structure and optical path of the XMM-Newton x-ray space telescope (Image: ESA)

The XMM-Newton x-ray space telescope in operating mode while orbiting Earth (Image: ESA)

The XMM-Newton x-ray space telescope against a gaseous nebula (Image: ESA)

An analysis of dark matter density near the center of galaxy clusters. The earlier prediction of a sharp peak in dark matter is strongly contradicted in these Subaru Telescope observations (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

Astrophoto of a gravitational lens taken with the Subaru Telescope. The red galaxy in the center is the lens at a distance of 3.7 Gly, and the other four images are a single quasar some 6 Gly behind the galaxy (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

The discovery picture, taken by the Subaru Telescope, of the most distant known galaxy - seen when the universe was only about 750 million years old (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

Orion over the Subaru Telescope (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

The laser guide star of the Subaru Telescope's adaptive optics system, which allows resolution of 0.18 arcseconds - extraordinary performance for an infrared telescope looking through Earth's atmosphere (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

Looking down on the mirror and prime focus of the Subaru Telescope (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

Looking at the Subaru Telescope from the side (Photo: Subaru Telescope)

Article Summary

For the first time, a team of astronomers has "observed" a filament of dark matter connecting two neighboring galaxy clusters. Dark matter is a type of matter that interacts only very weakly with light and itself. Its very nature is mysterious. Mapping the dark matter filament's gravity was the key observation. The result is considered a crucial first step by scientists - it provides the first direct evidence that the universe is filled by a lacework of dark matter filaments, upon which the visible matter in the universe is distributed like small beads. This groundbreaking observation is consistent with modern cosmological models, but the story of dark matter actually starts some 80 years ago.

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