Unique Prediction Of Modified Gravity Challenges Dark Matter Press Release - Source: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Posted
The best example is represented by the Sunflower galaxy (NGC 5055) with the strongest external field among SPARC galaxies, whose well-measured rotation curve shows a mildly declining behavior at large radial distance and can be accurately modeled only with an external field effect. CREDIT Creative Commons
An international group of scientists, including Case Western Reserve University Astronomy Chair Stacy McGaugh, has published research contending that a rival idea to the popular dark matter hypothesis more accurately predicts a galactic phenomenon that appears to defy the classic rules of gravity.
In the early 1980’s Israeli physicist Mordehai Milgrom from Weizmann Institute proposed a new theory, “the smoking gun” –a new theory of the universe’s structure that offers the most plausible alternative yet to dark matter– that defied the laws of gravity suggesting that galaxies are governed by modified dynamics rather than obeying the laws of Newton and of general relativity. “This theory became known as MOND for modified Newtonian Dynamics, Milgromian Dynamics, or “modified gravity”–a viable explanation for a cosmological dilemma: that galaxies appear to defy the long-accepted rules of gravity traced to Sir Isaac Newton in the late 1600’s. In short, the mathematics of gravity may hint at weirder phenomena than many thought.
Dark matter proponents theorize that most of the known Universe is actually made of material that doesn’t interact with light, making it invisible and undetectable, but that this material accounts for much of the gravitational pull among galaxies. A counter explanation introduced by the Israeli physicist Mordehai Milgrom in 1983, the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) theory, says this gravitational pull exists because the rules of gravity are slightly altered. Instead of attributing the excess gravitational pull to an unseen, undetectable dark matter, MOND suggests that gravity at low accelerations is stronger than would be predicted by a pure Newtonian understanding. In addition, MOND makes a bold prediction: the internal motions of an object in the cosmos should not only depend on the mass of the object itself, but also the gravitational pull from all other masses in the Universe the so-called external field effect. Now, astrophysicists from South Korea, the United Kingdom and
E-Mail
IMAGE: The best example is represented by the Sunflower galaxy (NGC 5055) with the strongest external field
among SPARC galaxies, whose well-measured rotation curve shows a mildly declining behavior at large
radial distance. view more
Credit: Creative Commons
An international group of scientists, including Case Western Reserve University Astronomy Chair Stacy McGaugh, has published research contending that a rival idea to the popular dark matter hypothesis more accurately predicts a galactic phenomenon that appears to defy the classic rules of gravity.
This is significant, the astrophysicists say, because it further establishes the hypothesis called modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), or modified gravity as a viable explanation for a cosmological dilemma: that galaxies appear to buck the long-accepted rules of gravity traced to Sir Isaac Newton in the late 1600 s.
Unique prediction of modified gravity challenges dark matter theory phys.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phys.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.