Remember that evidence of the early gravitational waves formed by the Big Bang? Apparently, it’s not as surefire as scientists once thought. The newly peer-reviewed findings note that there’s “unquantifiable uncertainty” in the source data; cosmic dust in the astronomers’ map of the universe may have skewed the results. More recent mapping efforts also suggest that there might have been a false signal.
This isn’t to say that the earlier conclusion was flat-out wrong. It’s still possible that researchers proved the existence of post-Big Bang ripples, bringing gravitational waves into the classical physics model. However, it does mean that the would-be discoverers will have to cross-check their info with experiments at other telescopes before they can brim with confidence. For now, at least, our understanding of space hasn’t quite been turned on its ear.
Filed under: Science
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Via: New Scientist
Source: Physical Review Letters