"Implausibly Large Structure" in the Universe

[Islam Hassan]

How much of a threat is this assembly/structure of quasars (400 billion light years long) to the homogeneity hypothesis of the universe?



Is it being taken seriously in academis circles or are researchers shrugging it off for the moment?


IH

 

[Bandersnatch]

Here's the paper the Sixty Symbols video is talking about:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.6256
"A structure in the early universe at z ~ 1.3 that exceeds the homogeneity scale of the R-W concordance cosmology"

Looks like it hasn't been published yet.


By the way, it's 4 billion ly, not 400.

 

[phsopher]

Well, the paper has been published, even the arXiv page says accepted for publication (Journal reference: 2013, MNRAS, 429, 2910). However, from what I understand it's not a very good one. See this paper and a more popular account on the blog of the author.

 

[Islam Hassan]

Thanx phsopher, seems like it's nowhere near a show-stopper...IH

 

[sardar]

onestly, I am not familiar with this specific "Implausibly Large Structure" in the universe that you are referring to. However, as a scientist, I can say that any new discovery or observation in the universe is always taken seriously in academic circles. This is because the universe is vast and constantly evolving, and there is still so much that we do not know or understand about it. Therefore, any discovery, no matter how implausible it may seem, can provide valuable insight and potentially challenge our current understanding of the universe.

In terms of the potential threat to the homogeneity hypothesis of the universe, it would depend on the nature and characteristics of this structure. The homogeneity hypothesis states that the universe is uniform on a large scale, meaning that it looks the same in all directions and at all scales. If this "Implausibly Large Structure" is found to be significantly different from the rest of the universe in terms of its composition or distribution, it could challenge this hypothesis.

However, it is important to note that the homogeneity hypothesis is not a proven fact and is constantly being tested and refined. So, while this structure may present a challenge, it could also lead to new insights and a better understanding of the universe.

As for whether researchers are taking it seriously or shrugging it off, I cannot say for certain without more information about this specific structure. But as I mentioned before, any new discovery is typically taken seriously and will likely be thoroughly investigated by the scientific community.