If you are like me, then you think the universe is like a big box, with all the things in it. And if you, like me, learned about Einstein and gravity and relativity in grade school, then you know that inside the big box, the space isn't exactly uniform, that it warps as it nears objects, because gravity.
But one day soon, in grade school, people will learn that the big box isn't just warped by gravity, but that it's not a box at all. The universe might be more like a jumbled mess of intersecting toroids, bubbles and tubes.
Anticipating future discoveries: Scientists explore nontrivial cosmic topology
May 2024, phys.org
Discussing his motivation to pursue this work, he said, "The possibility that the universe has 'interesting' topology is entirely within our Standard Model of physics but is nevertheless typically regarded as exotic.""I have long been concerned that we would miss an extraordinary discovery about our universe by just looking the other way. In the meantime, there is growing evidence that the universe is not 'statistically isotropic,' i.e. that physics is the same in all directions. Topology is a very natural way for anisotropy to creep into our universe."
via the COMPACT collaboration of scientists including from from Case Western Reserve University: Yashar Akrami et al, Promise of Future Searches for Cosmic Topology, Physical Review Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.171501
Image credit: The above image is the "first topological frequency comb", and is (ostensibly) a photograph taken by Emily Edwards for the University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology Joint Quantum Institute, where she is recognized for her ability to communicate with the public about quantum science. (I say the image is ostensibly a photograph, because it just looks way too good to be real, and part of me thinks it's just not properly cited. [link]
New measurements of gravitational anomaly at low acceleration favor modified gravity, researcher claims
Sep 2024, phys.org
When Kuhn talked about revolutions, this is what he was talking about. I'm too young to have felt the excitement upon discovering that E equals MC2, or that gravity affects time. But now I see.
They keep finding it between binary stars - It's the breakdown of Newtonian gravity at low acceleration, and it's called modified Newtonian dynamics, or MoND, or Milgromian dynamics, because it was introduced 40 years ago by Mordehai (Moti) Milgrom.
While these consistent results are arresting, unlimited reproductions and confirmations are needed for the reported gravitational anomaly to become a true scientific fact. Also, the reported gravitational anomaly will have to be better characterized continually to provide useful constraints on theories.
via Sejong University: Kyu-Hyun Chae, Measurements of the Low-acceleration Gravitational Anomaly from the Normalized Velocity Profile of Gaia Wide Binary Stars and Statistical Testing of Newtonian and Milgromian Theories, The Astrophysical Journal (2024). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad61e9
Also: Hernandez et al, A critical review of recent Gaia wide binary gravity tests, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2024). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae1823
Observational study supports century-old theory that challenges the Big Bang
Sep 2024, phys.org
Big Bang theory suggests the universe started to expand 13.8 billion years ago. At the same time, preeminent astronomer Fritz Zwicky proposed that galaxies that were more distant from Earth did not really move faster, but the red shift was because the light photons lose their energy as they travel through space. And it's called the Tired Light theory."The tired light theory was largely neglected, as astronomers adopted the Big Bang theory as the consensus model of the universe," Shamir said. "But the confidence of some astronomers in the Big Bang theory started to weaken when the powerful James Webb Space Telescope saw first light.
via Kansas State University: Lior Shamir, An Empirical Consistent Redshift Bias: A Possible Direct Observation of Zwicky's TL Theory, Particles (2024). DOI: 10.3390/particles7030041
Post Script:
New photonic chip spawns nested topological frequency comb
Jun 2024, phys.org
https://phys.org/news/2024-06-photonic-chip-spawns-topological-frequency.html
The First Topological Frequency Comb - shines with evenly spaced pristine frequency spikes, relies on a small silicon nitride chip patterned with hundreds of microscopic rings arranged in a two-dimensional grid; a complex pattern of interference takes input laser light and circulates it around the edge of the chip while the material of the chip itself splits it up into many frequencies.
via the University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology Joint Quantum Institute: Christopher J. Flower et al, Observation of topological frequency combs, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.ado0053
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