Evidence of the Big Bang

1. The universe is expanding

Edwin Hubble's 1929 observation that
galaxies were generally receding from us
provided the first clue that the Big Bang
theory might be right.

Testing the Big Bang model

Prediction:

The universe is expanding

Observation:

Galaxies are moving apart from each other (1929)

The Atomic Color Code

Atomic Spectra

An incandescent bulb has a continuous

spectrum. Three elements: hydrogen, sodium,
and mercury have different line spectra.

Evidence for an expanding universe

The spectrum of hydrogen gas is the unique
fingerprint of that element

Hydrogen lamp

Evidence for an expanding universe

When we see a repeat of the pattern we
saw in the lab, we know hydrogen is
present

Orion Nebula

LOW ENERGY

Energy, Frequency, and

Wavelength Basic Stuff
The diagram shows different kinds of
Electromagnetic Radiation.
Right side of the diagram = highest energy =
very high frequency = very short wavelength.
Left side of the diagram = lowest energy =
very low frequency = very long wavelength.

Energy, Frequency, and

Wavelength Gamma Rays
Gamma Rays (right side of the diagram) have
the highest energy of all even more powerful
than X-Rays.
Gamma Rays have very high frequency and
very short wavelength. They will fry you fast.

Energy, Frequency, and Wavelength

Visible Light (contd)
Remember the colors of Visible Light red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
(ROYGBIV).
Red light = lower energy/longer wavelength.
Violet light = higher energy/shorter wavelength.

Gamma Rays
Temperature = more than 108 (100
million) degrees Kelvin (K) = highest
energy of all (oKelvin = oC + 273)
Objects that give off Gamma Rays
Interstellar clouds where cosmic rays collide
with hydrogen nuclei
Accretion disks around black holes
Pulsars or neutron stars

X-Rays
Temperature = 106 to 108 K (1 million to
100 million degrees)
Objects that give off X-Rays
Regions of hot, shocked gas
Hot intergalactic gas in clusters of galaxies
Neutron stars
Supernova remnants
Stellar coronas

Ultraviolet
Temperature = 104 to 106 K (10 thousand to 1
million degrees)
Objects that give off Ultraviolet
Supernova remnants
Very hot stars
Quasars

Visible Light
Temperature = 103 to 104 K (1 thousand to
10 thousand degrees)
Objects that give off Visible Light
Planets
Stars
Galaxies
Reflection nebulae
Emission nebulae

Infrared (Heat Radiation)

Temperature = 10 to 103 K (10 to 1 thousand

degrees)
Objects that give off Infrared
Cool stars
Star-forming regions
Interstellar dust warmed by starlight
Planets
Comets
Asteroids

Radio Waves (including Microwaves)

Temperature = less than 10 K = lowest energy of
all
Objects that give off Radio Waves
Cosmic Background Radiation from The Big Bang
Inter-stellar plasmas
Cold interstellar medium
Regions near neutron stars
Regions near white dwarfs
Supernova remnants
Dense regions near centers of galaxies
Cold dense regions in spiral arms of galaxies

Evidence for an expanding universe

We see the same repeating pattern of lines in
a galaxy, but displaced to the red

Galaxy UGC 12915

Evidence for an expanding universe

The further the galaxy,
the more the shift to the red

Galaxy UGC 12508

Evidence for an expanding universe

The greater the red shift,
the faster the galaxy is receding

Galaxy KUG 1750

Evidence for an expanding universe

The red shift is caused
by the expansion of space.

Galaxy KUG 1217

Evidence for an expanding universe

The red shift is evidence
for an expanding universe

Galaxy IRAS F09159

The Universe is Expanding

The Redshift of Superclusters shows us that
the Universe is expanding. This Redshift is
called the Cosmological Redshift, because
it is caused by the expansion of space.
The farther away a galaxy is from us, the
faster it moves away from us.

Doppler Effect
Light wavelength is changed by motion of the light
source just like sound waves are.
This means light changes color according to how the
light source is moving.
Light source (like a star) moves away from you =
light looks more red to you = Doppler Redshift.
Light source (like a star) moves toward you = light
looks more blue to you = Doppler Blueshift.

More Doppler What if YOU are Moving?

The Expansion of the Universe

Cosmological Redshift

Space itself is expanding.

Cosmological redshift
Space expands, so
the distance
between the
wavecrests in
radiation expands
too.
If a is a scale
factor of the
universe, then
rec/ em=arec/aem

Slide 8

Expanding Cake Analogy

Just as all the chocolate chips move apart as the cake rises,
all the superclusters of galaxies move away from each other
as the space of the Universe expands.

How would redshift work in an

expanding universe?

Evidence of the Big Bang

3. The cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation
The early universe should have been very
hot. The cosmic microwave background
radiation is the remnant heat leftover from
the Big Bang.

Limitations of the Big Bang

1. Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) radiation
The temperature of the CMB is observed to
vary slightly across the sky. What produced
these fluctuations and how do they relate to
stars and galaxies?

Limitations of the Big Bang

2. The inflationary universe
A very short, but especially rapid burst of
growth in the very early universe
(inflation) provides an elegant, yet
untested, explanation of the previous
puzzles.

Is the Universe Static

the cosmological constant () is the value of the
energy density of the vacuum of space.
Edwin Hubble began studying the distances of
galaxies and compared them to the speed at which
they were moving away from Earth.
Then he compared it to the work of a man who
had been making similar observations years
earlier. He found that the galaxies that were farther
away were moving at a higher speed.

The Observable Universe

The observable
Universe is 27 Billion
light-years in
diameter.

The cosmic light horizon today is about 13.7 billion

light-years away in all directions.

Hubbles Law

The farther away a galaxy is from us, the faster it moves away from us:
GALAXY SPEED = GALAXY DISTANCE x HUBBLES CONSTANT (H 0).

Why is the sky dark at night?

Olbers paradox (dark night sky paradox)German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers
Answer: The universe isnt infinite. It has a
beginning.
Sky at night is not totally dark!!!

The Fate of the

Universe

High density = lots of

mass = enough matter to
gravitationally halt
expansion and cause
gravitational collapse

Low density = little mass =

not enough gravitational
attraction to stop
expansionit goes on
forever

If Ho = 70 km/s/Mpc, then crit 1 x 10-29 g/cm3

(about one H atom in 200 L volume of space)

The Big Crunch

The Big Bang gives the universe the force
to continue to expand, but it would stand to
reason that gravity would eventually slow
this force down.
When gravity begins to overpower this
force the universe would begin to contract

The Expansion/Contraction of the Universe

Bottom to Top- The Big Bang
Top to Bottom- The Big Crunch

1998 Announcement that not only was the Universe

expanding, but it was doing it at an accelerating rate

Why is the universe accelerating?

Observations announced
in 1998 of distance
redshift relation. ---smaller redshift than
would be expected.
something must be
overpowering the force of
gravity or the general
theory of relativity has a
major flaw

Einstein was correct in adding

the cosmological constant

Accelerating Universe
Hubble expansion appears to be accelerating
Normal matter cannot cause acceleration, only
deceleration of expansion
Dark energy is required
may be cosmological constant
may be something else
major current problem in astronomy

Energy budget of Universe

Stars and galaxies are only 0.1%
Neutrinos are ~0.110%
Rest of ordinary matter (electrons and protons) are
~5%
Dark Matter ~25%
Dark Energy ~70%

Dark Matter

Can not absorb or emit light

Thought to exist because of its effect
on gravity
If there was no dark matter the
galaxies would fly apart
Could be MACHOs or WIMPs

Gravitational lensing
Gravitational lens => a distribution of matter
between a distant source and an observer, that
is capable of bending the light from the source
as the light travels towards the observer.
Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity,
published in 1916, predicted that massive
objects, such as stars, could bend light rays
passing nearby.

Questions to be answered
Is the particle discovered really the Higgs boson?
Is it really responsible for particle masses?
Is it condensed in the Universe?

Prove it is the Origin of Mass

Spin/Parity
Couplings
Vacuum expectation value
Branching Ratios

56

Dark Energy
Quantum Vacuum Energy- particles which
are constantly coming in and out of existence
generate energy
The problem is that the calculation of this
energy is a problem in quantum mechanics
and the expansion of the universe is in terms
of general relativity
Accounts for about 70% of the universe.

Faster than Light Travel

Vacuum effects
Vacuum in which c is measured has energy
associated with quantum fluctuations
By changing vacuum energy, could change speed
of light to higher than standard value of c =
Scharnhorst effect
Casimir effect represents lowering of vacuum
energy predicted increase in speed of light by 1
part in 1036 for plates that are 1 micrometer apart

The universe is made up of

millions of Galaxies.

A galaxy is a swarm of billions of

stars, clouds and dust rotating
around a central point.

Our galaxy is
called the Milky
Way

Our
WHOLE
solar system
is located
right about
here

100 billion years

from now the
Universe will
appear frozen in
time as we look
out into space.
Only the light
from the Local
Group of galaxies
will remain
visible, if anyone
is still around to
see it.

Other
Galaxies

Early Universe Temperature Variations

Tiny temperature fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background

Radiation are related to the large-scale structure of the Universe today,
indicating where Superclusters and voids grew.

The First Stars much larger than the Sun with

much shorter lives

The burst of star formation that occurred within a few

hundred million years after the Big Bang.

Proto-Galaxy Formation

Hubble and Keck telescope images of two groups of stars that are
believed to be proto-galaxies, from which bigger galaxies grew

Creation of Spiral and Elliptical Galaxies

If the rate of star
formation was
low, then a spiral
galaxy formed.

If the rate of star

formation was
high, then an
elliptical galaxy
formed.

A galaxy begins as a huge cloud of primordial gas

that collapses gravitationally.

100 billion years

from now the
Universe will appear
frozen in time as we
look out into space.
Only the light from
the Local Group of
galaxies will remain
visible, if anyone is
still around to see it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do all galaxies have spiral arms?
Are galaxies isolated objects?
Are all other galaxies moving away from the
Milky Way?

You will discover

How galaxies are categorized by their shapes.
That galaxies contain huge amounts of dark
matter.
That galaxies are found in clusters.
How some galaxies merge while others devour
their neighbors.
That the universe is expanding.

Types of Galaxies
1.
2.
3.
4.

Spiral
Barred Spiral
Elliptical
Irregular

Hubbles Diagram of Galaxy Types

1. Spiral Galaxies

Type Sa

Type Sb

Type Sc

Andromeda (M31)

Spiral Galaxies Seen Edge-on

M104:

NGC

NGC

Variety in Spiral Arms

M33: A

M74: a Grand

2. Barred Spiral Galaxies

M58:
SBa

M83:
SBb

NGC
1365:

3. Elliptical Galaxies

M105

M49:

NGC

4. Irregular Galaxies

Large

NGC

Galaxies are Clumped in Space

Galaxies occur in groups called Clusters. The
galaxies in a Cluster are bound by gravity to each
other, and can collide.
Our Galaxy belongs to a Cluster called The Local
Group.
Clusters of galaxies occur in bigger groups called
Superclusters. Most Superclusters are not
gravitationally bound units like Clusters are.
All the Clusters are moving away from each other as
the Universe expands.

A Cluster of Galaxies

The Local Group Our Cluster

Our Galaxy belongs to a poor, irregular (wimpy) cluster consisting of about

40 galaxies (including M31 Andromeda) called the Local Group.

Colliding Galaxies
Galaxies that belong to the same Cluster
can collide.
Sometimes these galaxies pass through each
other, and sometimes they combine.
The individual stars in the colliding
galaxies do not hit each other, but the huge
clouds of gas and dust do collide.

Colliding Galaxies

Pairs of colliding galaxies often exhibit long

antennae of stars ejected by the collision.

Colliding Galaxies Mano a Mano

NGC 2207 (right) and IC 2163 are orbiting and

gravitationally distorting each other.

Our Local Supercluster

and Other Superclusters
Our Local
Group
(cluster) is at
the center of
the diagram.
Our Local
Supercluster
extends out to
the Virgo
Cluster.

Beyond Superclusters
Filamentary Structure in the Universe

2-Micron All Sky Survey (Infrared) 1.6 million galaxies shown.

Beyond Superclusters
Filamentary Structure in the Universe

Distribution map of 62,559 galaxies in two wedges extending out in

opposite directions from the Earth (done with galaxy redshifts).

The Universe is Expanding

The Redshift of Superclusters shows us that the
Universe is expanding. This Redshift is called
the Cosmological Redshift, because it is
caused by the expansion of space.
The farther away a galaxy is from us, the faster it
moves away from us:
GALAXY SPEED =
GALAXY DISTANCE x HUBBLES
CONSTANT (H0).
This is called Hubbles Law, after Edwin
Hubble, who discovered it.

HST Galaxies 12.5 Billion LY Away

HST Galaxies >13 Billion LY Away

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Do all galaxies have spiral arms?
No. Galaxies may be either spiral, barred spiral,
elliptical, or irregular. Only spirals and barred spirals
have arms.
Are galaxies isolated objects?
No. Galaxies are grouped in clusters, and clusters are
grouped in superclusters.
Are all other galaxies moving away from the Milky
Way?
All galaxies except those in our Local Group (cluster)
are receding from us. Some local galaxies are
actually moving toward us.

 a massive and extremely remote celestial

object, emitting exceptionally large
amounts of energy, and typically having a
starlike image in a telescope. It has been
suggested that quasars contain massive
black holes and may represent a stage in the
evolution of some galaxies.