How Did Structure Form in the Universe?

The Big Bang theory is widely considered to be a successful theory of cosmology, but the theory is incomplete. Astronomers observe considerable structure in the universe, from stars to galaxies to clusters and superclusters of galaxies. The recently released "Deep Field Image" taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, shown below, provides a stunning view of such structure. How did these structures form? Most cosmologists believe that the galaxies that we observe today grew gravitationally out of small fluctuations in the nearly-uniform density of the early universe. These fluctuations leave an imprint in the cosmic microwave background radiation in the form of temperature fluctuations from point to point across the sky. The MAP satellite will measure these small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation and in turn probe the early stages of structure formation.

Hubble Deep Field Image:

[Text of the HST press release describing this image]

In its simplest form, the Big Bang theory assumes that matter and radiation are uniformly distributed throughout the universe and that general relativity is universally valid. While this can account for the existence of the cosmic microwave background radiation and explain the origin of the light elements, it does not explain the existence of galaxies and large-scale structure. The solution of the structure problem must be built into the framework of the Big Bang theory.

Gravitational Formation of Structure

Most cosmologists believe that the galaxies that we observe today grew gravitationally out of small fluctuations in the density of the universe through the following sequence of events:

• When the universe was one thousandth its present size (roughly 500,000 years after the Big Bang), the density of matter in the region of space that now contains the Milky Way, our home galaxy, was perhaps 0.5% higher than in adjacent regions. Because its density was higher, this region of space expanded more slowly than surrounding regions.
• As a result of this slower expansion, its relative overdensity grew. When the universe was one hundredth its present size (roughly 15 million years after the Big Bang), our region of space was probably 5% denser than the surrounding regions.
• This gradual growth continued as the universe expanded. When the universe was one fifth its present size (roughly 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang), our region of space was probably twice as dense as neighboring regions. Cosmologists speculate that the inner portions of our Galaxy (and similar galaxies) were assembled at this time. The stars in the outer regions of our Galaxy were probably assembled in the more recent past. Some cosmologists suspect that some of the objects recently detected by the Hubble Space Telescope may be galaxies in formation.

HST Images of Galaxies in Formation?

Observing These Small Fluctuations

Tiny variations in the density of matter in the early universe leave an imprint in the cosmic microwave background radiation in the form of temperature fluctuations from point to point across the sky. The MAP satellite will measure these small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation. These temperature fluctuations are minute: one part of the sky might have a temperature of 2.7281 Kelvin (degrees above absolute zero), while another part might have a temperature of 2.7280 Kelvin. NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, has detected these tiny fluctuations on large angular scales. MAP will re-measure the fluctuations with both additional angular resolution and sensitivity. The mission summary page offers a quick introduction to how MAP achieves this sensitivity - more details are available on the technical information page.

What Made These Small Fluctuations?

While gravity can enhance the tiny fluctuations seen in the early universe, it can not produce these fluctuations. Cosmologists speculate about the new physics needed to produce the primordial fluctuations that formed galaxies. Two popular ideas are:

• Inflation
• Topological Defects

These different theories make very different predictions about the properties of the cosmic microwave background fluctuations. For example, the inflationary theory predicts that the largest temperature fluctuations should have an angular scale of one degree, while the defect models predict a smaller characteristic scale. MAP, with its superb sensitivity, should be able to easily distinguish between the two theories, or rule them out entirely.

Learn More About Structure Formation at These Sites:

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

This group plans to map the positions of over 100 million galaxies and determine the distances to over a million galaxies and quasars. The effort will produce the largest (known) survey to date of cosmic structure in the universe. You can learn more about the details of the SDSS by visiting the home page at Fermilab or by reading an introduction to the project.

The Grand Challenge Consortium

This is a collaboration of scientists from Princeton University, MIT, University of Illinois, Indiana University, U.C. Santa Cruz, University of Pittsburgh and the NCSA and PSC supercomputer centers. You can learn about the largest simulations of structure formation to date, and see computer simulations of galaxy formation and mergers by visiting the GC3 home site.

The University of Washington supercomputing group

This group maintains an excellent science education page.

The Hubble Space Telescope

HST has been able to observe distant galaxies and study the formation and evolution of galaxies. The lead figure on this page is the Hubble Deep Field image. You can learn more about this image by clicking here.

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Last updated: Friday, 05-21-1999