A Structure Larger than the Sloan Great Wall?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the possibility of discovering a galactic wall larger than the Sloan Great Wall, prompted by new measurements from the SDSS. Participants explore the topology of the universe at scales beyond current supercluster structures, including the existence of larger filaments and voids.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether new measurements from the SDSS could lead to the discovery of a galactic wall larger than the Sloan Great Wall, suggesting that the SDSS's limited coverage leaves room for larger structures.
  • There is curiosity about the topology of the universe at scales ten times larger than current known structures, with inquiries into whether these hypothetical structures would also form filaments and walls.
  • Participants express uncertainty regarding the existence of voids between these potential larger galactic walls and speculate on the overall appearance of the universe if viewed from a significant distance.
  • Another line of inquiry involves the belief among cosmologists, physicists, and mathematicians regarding the infinitude of the universe, with some suggesting that this topic is not widely discussed among working scientists.
  • One participant notes that mathematics may not be sufficient to fully address the complexities of these cosmological questions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints on the existence of larger structures and the infinitude of the universe, indicating that multiple competing views remain and the discussion is unresolved.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the current understanding of the universe's topology, including missing assumptions and the dependence on observational data from the SDSS. The discussion reflects uncertainty regarding the relevance of certain cosmological questions among the scientific community.

Petradog
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Does anyone believe, given new measurements from the SDSS, that we will discover a galactic wall that exceeds the size of the Sloan Great Wall?

Also, what is larger than the galactic filaments connecting to form the walls?

Can somebody please provide the proper topology of what the universe should look like at scales ten times the largest of supercluster-made sheets, walls, voids, ect...?

And if you can provide these hypothetical structures, do you suppose they'll make filaments and walls too? ad infinitum?

Are there voids between these "new" galactic larger walls? What do you think? What would it look like if you zoomed out and saw everything at once?
 
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Petradog said:
Does anyone believe, given new measurements from the SDSS, that we will discover a galactic wall that exceeds the size of the Sloan Great Wall?
Why not? The SDSS doesn't even cover half the sky, so there's definitely a lot of room to discover a larger structure.

As for the rest, those questions aren't so easily answered. And I have to go in a few minutes, so I'll leave this post at that.
 
What is the percentage of cosmologists, physicists, and mathematicians that believe the universe is truly infinite?
 
Petradog said:
What is the percentage of cosmologists, physicists, and mathematicians that believe the universe is truly infinite?
I'm not sure anybody's done that study. And I can't even given any impressions as it's not one of those things that physicists or cosmologists actually talk about much (I haven't hung out with mathematicians in a long time). My guess would be a relatively small percentage, as there is just insufficient data to make such a determination.

Working physicists (which includes cosmologists) tend to be completely uninterested in such questions, as there really is no way to resolve them with current information, or even with the sort of information we know we will be able to obtain in the future. A small subset of theorists (and sometimes philosophers) get into debates such as these. I'm not aware of mathematicians that do, but I suppose it's possible. But these people are a minority: most just do not think such questions have any relevance at all.
 
Thank you for answering my question.
 
Mathematics may not be a fully sufficient tool to explore such issues.
 

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