Astronomy

UCR CECI: Developing Instruments to See the Dark Universe in a New Light

tomwt — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:49:25 +0000

UCR CECI: Developing Instruments to See the Dark Universe in a New Light tomwt Mon, 03/17/2025 - 13:49 More CNAS in the Media WebsEdge Science March 12, 2025

WEBSEDGE SCIENCE - Our ability to observe the universe has gone hand in hand with the advances in technology we’ve made to do so. To understand the mysteries of the universe, we’ve gone from visible light, to ultraviolet and infrared, x-ray and gamma-ray. Today, as cosmologists begin to detect even more opaque phenomena like gravitational waves and dark matter, the technology we use only unlocks further questions – and the need for further means to find the answers.

University of California, Riverside’s Center for Experimental Cosmology and Instrumentation (CECI) is the only center in the US with a mission to develop new instrumentation. Driven by renowned cosmologist Barry Barish, CECI is recruiting the next generation of experimental cosmologists to build the instruments and components we need to solve the next big mysteries.

One group at the center is working to enable megawatt levels of laser power with highly entangled quantum states of light, to help build the next generation of gravitational wave detector, Cosmic Explorer. Another is designing new dark matter and neutrino detectors sensitive to low-energy signals from rare interactions like supernovas. One more is focused on building detectors using superconducting materials to measure cosmic background radiation.

CECI brings together the strengths of UCR’s Physics Department by utilizing the synergies between the condensed matter groups who develop advanced semiconductor and quantum materials needed for new instruments, and the astronomy and particle theory groups that help optimize designs for important scientific questions.

At the same time, this hub of innovation is a unique training ground for students, as well as an opportunity to boost the local economy through the development of new related industries like quantum and semiconductor industries.

Investment in the future is essential for the future of cosmology. As our reach gets further and our tools get more sophisticated, cosmology is increasingly dependent on long term collaborations with a vision for the big experiments of the future. Observing black hole formation in real time, discovering the true nature of dark matter, and understanding why the universe favors matter over anti-matter – these are all questions that the work of CECI will help us answer in the future.

Watch the Video

Learn More About the Center for Experimental Cosmology and Instrumentation (CECI)

Tags

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Astronomy

Barry Barish

Why alien life could be thriving on the "terminator line" of exoplanets

tomwt — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:26:51 +0000

Why alien life could be thriving on the "terminator line" of exoplanets tomwt Mon, 11/27/2023 - 08:26 More CNAS in the Media Elizabeth Hlavinka - Salon.com November 24, 2023

SALON - In distant galaxies exist stars that are smaller and cooler than our own Sun. These so-called red dwarf or M dwarf stars also live 10 times as long as stars like ours and are the most numerous in our galaxy, outnumbering stars like ours 10 to 1. Because of their longevity and quantity, they have become a prime target for the constantly evolving search for life outside our planet.

However, there are a few things about these solar systems that may make it difficult for water, the primary indicator of habitability, to exist. Some planets in these systems reside very close to red dwarf stars and rotate with them in synchronicity. This casts one side of these exoplanets into perpetual, icy darkness, never seeing the sun's light, while the other side of the globe is continuously exposed to the red dwarf’s scorching heat. From what we know about the habitability of the one planet we know supports life — Earth — balance is key, and it’s unlikely the harsh climates of either side of these planets would give way to the conditions necessary to sustain life.

Generally, like on Earth, if the energy a planet receives from its star allows some form of water to exist, it is considered to rest in a habitable zone, said Stephen Kane, a planetary astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside, who was not involved in the study. However, hundreds of factors influence habitability apart from a planet’s sun.

Think of Earth, which is affected by the magnetic fields of its moon and neighboring giant planets like Jupiter that both block external objects from flying into Earth’s orbit and launch things inward. The latter is thought to be how Earth gained much of its water not long after the solar system’s formation, Kane explained.

Read the Article

Tags

Astronomy

Webb telescope spots the most distant Milky Way-like galaxy yet

tomwt — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:09:16 +0000

Webb telescope spots the most distant Milky Way-like galaxy yet tomwt Thu, 11/16/2023 - 09:09 More CNAS in the Media Ashley Strickland | CNN November 14, 2023

CNN - Astronomers have spied an intriguing phenomenon in the distant universe — a galaxy that closely resembles the Milky Way — and it’s challenging key theories on how galaxies evolve.

The faraway system, called ceers-2112, was spotted by an international team using the James Webb Space Telescope.

Like our home galaxy, the newly discovered ceers-2112 is a barred spiral galaxy, and it’s now the most distant of its kind ever observed. The bar at the center of the structure is made of stars.

“Finding ceers-2112 shows that galaxies in the early universe could be as ordered as the Milky Way,” said study coauthor Alexander de la Vega, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside, in a statement. “This is surprising because galaxies were much more chaotic in the early universe and very few had similar structures to the Milky Way.”

A study detailing the findings was published November 8 in the journal Nature.

Read the Article

Tags

Astronomy

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Does Earth have a twin? James Webb Telescope discovers galaxy similar to Milky Way

tomwt — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 16:18:15 +0000

Does Earth have a twin? James Webb Telescope discovers galaxy similar to Milky Way tomwt Mon, 11/13/2023 - 08:18 More CNAS in the Media Staff Report | StudyFinds November 10, 2023

STUDYFINDS - Could Earth have a twin in a distant galaxy that looks just like ours? Scientists have made an astronomical discovery that disputes previous theories of galaxy formation. An international team of astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to identify the most distant barred spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way ever observed. This finding challenges previous beliefs that galaxies like this one couldn’t be observed until the universe was much older.

The newfound galaxy, ceers-2112, was formed shortly after the Big Bang.

“Finding ceers-2112 shows that galaxies in the early universe could be as ordered as the Milky Way,” says study co-author Alexander de la Vega, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California-Riverside, in a university release. “This is surprising because galaxies were much more chaotic in the early universe and very few had similar structures to the Milky Way.”

Read the Article

Tags

Astronomy

Jupiter Is a black sheep which protects all life on Earth

tomwt — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 14:45:31 +0000

Jupiter Is a black sheep which protects all life on Earth tomwt Thu, 11/02/2023 - 07:45 More CNAS in the Media Jess Thomson | Newsweek November 02, 2023

NEWSWEEK - While Jupiter may be our planetary guardian angel, protecting us from harm, gas giants in other solar systems might actually wreak havoc on other exoplanets nearby.

In our solar system, Jupiter's huge gravitational field deflects comets and asteroids away from our delicate, rocky home planet.

According to a new study in The Astronomical Journal, small rocky exoplanets similar to Earth may actually be knocked out of the habitable zone by the gravitational impact of large Jupiter-like gas giants.

"It's as if they have four Jupiters acting like wrecking balls, throwing everything out of whack," Stephen Kane, a UC Riverside astrophysicist and co-author of the paper, said in a statement.

The scientists looked into the far-off solar system HD 141399, which has four gas giants situated a long distance from their star, making it a good model for our own solar system, as Jupiter and Saturn are also long way from the sun.

Using computer simulations of the solar system, they found that Earth may not have been able to remain in its habitable orbit had it been in that solar system rather than our own, due to the gravitational effects of the gas giants.

Read the Article

Tags

Astronomy

Scientists Might've Solved the Mystery of Jupiter's Frail Rings

tomwt — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 22:47:46 +0000

Scientists Might've Solved the Mystery of Jupiter's Frail Rings tomwt Fri, 07/22/2022 - 15:47 More CNAS in the Media Monisha Ravisetti | CNET July 22, 2022

CNET - "We found that the Galilean moons of Jupiter, one of which is the largest moon in our solar system, would very quickly destroy any large rings that might form," Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist from the University of California, Riverside, who led the research, said in a statement. "As a result, it is unlikely that Jupiter had large rings at any point in its past."

In other words, Kane and colleagues believe the gravitational pull and sheer force of Jupiter's orbiting moons -- especially the four largest Galilean ones -- would've obliterated any and all matter attempting to produce Saturn-like rings around the gas giant.

READ THE ARTICLE

Tags

Astronomy

Supermassive black holes stop star formation in dwarf galaxies

ilseu — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 16:06:51 +0000

Supermassive black holes stop star formation in dwarf galaxies ilseu Wed, 11/06/2019 - 08:06 More CNAS in the Media Alison Klesman | Astronomy online October 18, 2019

ASTRONOMY ONLINE - Astronomers know that most galaxies house supermassive black holes in their centers, from the largest galaxies down to small dwarfs. They also know that when supermassive black holes are actively feeding, they can slow or even stop the formation of stars in their home. Although this relationship has been well established for large galaxies, it has not been studied much in dwarf galaxies. Now, researchers have discovered that black holes in dwarf galaxies are capable of shutting down star formation, just like their more massive counterparts.

In larger galaxies, outflows from supermassive black holes have been linked to the shutdown of star formation. But not in dwarf galaxies. “Typically, winds driven by stellar processes [such as supernovae] are common in dwarf galaxies and constitute the dominant process for regulating the amount of gas available in dwarf galaxies for forming stars,” said first author Christina M. Manzano-King at the University of California, Riverside, in a press release.

READ THE ARTICLE

Tags

Astronomy

Laura Sales