Just another theory?

Universe ‘may be tied up with cosmic strings’

New York: A team of international researchers claims to have unearthed hints that there might be cosmic strings — lines of pure mass energy — stretching across the entire universe.
“This is an exciting result for physicists. Cosmic strings are relics of the very early universe and signposts that would help construct a theory of all forces and particles,” according to lead researcher Dr Mark Hindmarsh of the University of Sussex.
Using data from Nasa’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, which is a satellite currently mapping the intensity of cosmic microwaves from all directions, the team compared the predictions of what should be seen with and without strings before coming to the conclusion.
The researchers made predictions of how the strings would affect the Cosmic Microwave Background, relic radio waves from the Big Bang which fill the universe by using a Silicon Graphics supercomputer. It turned out that the best explanation for the pattern of this radiation was a theory which included strings.
“We cannot yet see these strings directly. They are many billion light years away. We can only look for indirect evidence of their existence through precision measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background, of cosmic rays, gravitational radiation, and looking for double images of distant quasars,” Dr Hindmarsh was quoted by the ‘Science Daily’ as saying. According to the researchers, better data is required before the existence of cosmic strings can be confirmed. “This will be produced by European Space Agency’s Planck Satellite mission (due for launch this year),” Dr Hindmarsh said.
The results of the study have been published in the latest edition of Physical Review Letters journal. PTI