New Dark Matter Discovery Deepens Cosmic Mystery

"It's a strange world."

In the 1986 film Blue Velvet, by David Lynch, the mystery begins with the discovery of a severed ear in a field.

In 2007, the mystery appears to be the severed dark matter core left by a "cosmic train wreck "observed in a massive galaxy cluster called Abell 520.

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UVic./A. Mahdavi et al. Optical/lensing: CFHT/UVic./H. Hoekstra et al.

New Scientist summarized the discovery with this understated opening line, "Disturbing evidence has emerged from the wreckage of an intergalactic pile-up suggesting that the already mysterious substance known as dark matter may be even less well understood than astronomers thought."

In Lynch's Blue Velvet, the calmly surreal normality of a suburban landscape is shown to be the veneer that hides an ugly truth. Perhaps mainstream physics is about to experience a similar revelation about the nature of the observable universe?

According to a story from Space.com:

"It blew us away that it looks like the galaxies are removed from the dark matter core," said study team member Hendrik Hoekstra, also of the University of Victoria. "This would be the first time we've seen such a thing and could be a huge test of our knowledge of how dark matter behaves."

So what's next? Stay tuned ...

More about Ori's Time Machine

Roger Highfield, science editor for the UK's Telegraph, has posted a nice pop overview of time machine research called "Time travel could be possible ... in the future."

Of course our opinion is that the odds are in favor of time travel being possible right now -- given the vastness of the multiverse. Never mind that the keepers of the time machine are probably not humans, although that doesn't preclude the possibility of time traveling humans from the future hitching a ride on an alien time machine. I suspect that somewhere here-now a brilliant entrepreneur is working out the details of how to profit from catering to tourists from the future. (And yes, that last link is more tongue in cheek than anything else, folks, although it was forwarded to me from a source at the Defense Intelligence Agency.)

Anyway, here's what Highfield had to say in his article:

Prof Ori’s theory, set out in the prestigious science journal Physical Review, rests on a set of mathematical equations describing hypothetical conditions that, if established, could lead to the formation of a time machine, technically known as “closed time-like curves.”

In the blends of space and time, or spacetime, in his equations, time would be able to curve back on itself, so that a person travelling around the loop might be able to go further back in time with each lap.

Speaking of tourists from the future, Highfield quotes Stephen Hawking:

Tongue in cheek, Prof Hawking added that there is experimental evidence that time travel doesn’t exist: “We have no reliable evidence of visitors from the future. (I’m discounting the conspiracy theory that UFOs are from the future and that the government knows and is covering it up. Its record of cover-ups is not that good.)”

That's funny, Professor Hawking, because we keep hearing about the time traveling machines from the future, from associates of a high-ranking intelligence intelligence official with a specialty in Measurement and Signature Intelligence. We've even seen a paper involving semi-covert questioning of unwitting participants to gauge their reaction to the reality of time travel, done at a major university, and a cover-story involving a treatment for a Hollywood science fiction trilogy.

If you want more of the sordid business behind these real-life X-files, check out our Spies, Lies, and Polygraph Tape blog.

Time Machines in the News, Again

It's almost becoming popular for theoretical physicists to research and write papers about time machines.

Examples include Kip Thorne's rotating wormhole and Robert Mallett's ring of light. The latest idea brought to our attention comes to us via a story in the Jerusalem Post:

Ori, a physicist from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, has come up with what he says are practical solutions to overcome the hindrances that experts have long regarded as stopping us from traveling back in time.

In a paper published in the latest issue of the Physical Review journal, the scientist offers a theoretical model, based on mathematical equations describing conditions that, if established, could help lead to the development of a time machine of sorts. But rather than building an actual device, Ori explains that "the machine is space-time itself."

A quick search reveals several other articles on line about Ori's work:

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/83c4e288d12c6010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050716/fob7.asp

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050711/full/050711-4.html

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532037/

Here are a few links to Ori's papers posted at the physics archive at www.arxiv.org :

Formation of closed timelike curves in a composite vacuum/dust asymptotically-flat spacetime

Authors: Amos Ori

(Submitted on 3 Jan 2007 (v1), last revised 7 Jun 2007 (this version, v3))

Abstract: We present a new asymptotically-flat time-machine model made solely of vacuum and dust. The spacetime evolves from a regular spacelike initial hypersurface S and subsequently develops closed timelike curves. The initial hypersurface S is asymptotically flat and topologically trivial. The chronology violation occurs in a compact manner; namely the first closed causal curves form at the boundary of the future domain of dependence of a compact region in S (the core). This central core is empty, and so is the external asymptotically flat region. The intermediate region surrounding the core (the envelope) is made of dust with positive energy density. This model trivially satisfies the weak, dominant, and strong energy conditions. Furthermore it is governed by a well-defined system of field equations which possesses a well-posed initial-value problem.

A new time-machine model with compact vacuum core

Authors: Amos Ori

(Submitted on 17 Mar 2005)

Abstract: We present a class of curved-spacetime vacuum solutions which develope closed timelike curves at some particular moment. We then use these vacuum solutions to construct a time-machine model. The causality violation occurs inside an empty torus, which constitutes the time-machine core. The matter field surrounding this empty torus satisfies the weak, dominant, and strong energy conditions. The model is regular, asymptotically-flat, and topologically-trivial. Stability remains the main open question.

Tragedy in Minneapolis

Some of you are aware that I am based in the Minneapolis/St.Paul Twin Cities area, where we have just experienced a major disaster, the collapse of the Mississippi River bridge on Interstate 35W. Our governor has described this tragedy as "catastrophe of historic proportions."

According to local NBC affiliate KARE11, "The entire span of the 35 Bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. where the freeway crosses the river near University Avenue. Traffic in both directions was affected. At least 50 cars, along with tons of concrete, metal and were sent crashing into the Mississippi River. "

Numerous government agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security were on the scene. According to media reports, there are no indications that the collapse was due to an act of terrorism.

As a fellow Minnesotans, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and with the heroic efforts of citizen first responders and rescue workers.