Planck challenges our understanding of the Universe

Planck refines our knowledge of the Universe's composition and evolution

2013-03-21

(Press-News.org) Planck refines our knowledge of the Universe's composition and evolution

New maps provide excellent evidence for our standard model of cosmology

Planck dates Universe at 13.82 billion years old

Anomalies suggest that Universe may be different on scales larger than those we can directly observe

Most accurate values yet for the ingredients of the Universe, with normal matter contributing just 4.9% of the mass/energy density of the Universe and dark matter making up 26.8% - nearly a fifth more than the previous estimate.

Europe's Planck satellite - a flagship mission for the UK Space Agency - has compiled the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background (the relic radiation from the Big Bang). The new map refines our understanding of the Universe's composition and evolution, and unveils new features that could challenge the foundations of our current understanding of its evolution.

The image is based on the initial 15.5 months of data from Planck and is the mission's first all-sky picture of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when it was just 380 000 years old. This cosmic microwave background (CMB) shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities at very early times, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today.

Overall, the information extracted from Planck's new map provides an excellent confirmation of the standard model of cosmology at an unprecedented accuracy, setting a new benchmark for our knowledge of the contents of the Universe.

Dr Chris Castelli, Acting Director of Science, Technology and Exploration at the UK Space Agency, said, "We're immensely proud to be playing a key role in this amazing discovery. With its ability to make such detailed and accurate observations, Planck is helping us to place the vital pieces of a jigsaw that could give us a full picture of the evolution of our Universe, rewriting the textbooks along the way."

"The CMB temperature fluctuations detected by Planck confirm once more that the relatively simple picture provided by the standard model is an amazingly good description of the Universe," explains George Efstathiou of the University of Cambridge.

The properties of the hot and cold regions of the map provide information about the composition and evolution of the Universe. Normal matter that makes up stars and galaxies contributes just 4.9% of the mass/energy density of the Universe. Dark matter, which has thus far only been detected indirectly by its gravitational influence, makes up 26.8%, nearly a fifth more than the previous estimate. Conversely, dark energy, a mysterious force thought to be responsible for accelerating the expansion of the Universe, accounts for slightly less than previously thought, at around 69%.

The Planck data also set a new value for the rate at which the Universe is expanding today, known as the Hubble constant. At 67.3 km/s/Mpc, this is significantly different from the value measured from relatively nearby galaxies. This somewhat slower expansion implies that the Universe is also a little older than previously thought, at 13.8 billion years.

The analysis also gives strong support for theories of "inflation", a very brief but crucial early phase during the first tiny fraction of a second of the Universe's existence. As well as explaining many properties of the Universe as a whole, this initial expansion caused the ripples in the CMB that we see today.

Although this primordial epoch can't be observed directly, the theory predicts a set of very subtle imprints on the CMB map. Previous experiments have not been able to confidently detect these subtle imprints, but the high resolution of Planck's map confirms that the tiny variations in the density of the early Universe match those predicted by inflation.

'The sizes of these tiny ripples hold the key to what happened in that first trillionth of a trillionth of a second. Planck has given us striking new evidence that indicates they were created during this incredibly fast expansion, just after the Big Bang', explained Joanna Dunkley of the University of Oxford.

But because the precision of Planck's map is so high, it also reveals some peculiar unexplained features that may well require new physics to be understood. Amongst the most surprising findings are that the fluctuations in the CMB over large scales do not match those predicted by the standard model. This anomaly adds to those observed by previous experiments, and confirmed by Planck, including an asymmetry in the average temperatures on opposite hemispheres of the sky, and a cold spot that extends over a patch of sky that is much larger than expected.

One way to explain the anomalies is to propose that the Universe is in fact not the same in all directions on a larger scale than we can observe. In this scenario, the light rays from the CMB may have taken a more complicated route through the Universe than previously understood, resulting in some of the unusual patterns observed today.

"Our ultimate goal would be to construct a new model that predicts the anomalies and links them together. But these are early days; so far, we don't know whether this is possible and what type of new physics might be needed. And that's exciting," says Professor Efstathiou.

Professor John Womersley, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), said, "Planck has given us an amazing picture of the very earliest moments of the Universe. These results are the culmination of many years of work by UK scientists and engineers supported by STFC. This kind of project can sometimes seem expensive but the payoff in science and technology more than justifies the investment we've made.'"

### Notes for Editors Images and animations: Cosmic recipe pie chart: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images-2013/planck/planck-cosmic-recipe-pie-chart.jpg

Planck's history of the universe: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images-2013//planck/planck-history-of-universe.jpg

Anomalies: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images-2013/planck/anomalies-sieve.jpg

CMB: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images-2013/planck/cosmic-microwave-background.jpg

Toolkit: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/docs-2013/planck-toolkit.pdf

UK involvement in Planck The UK is playing a major role in the Planck mission. A number of UK institutes and companies form part of the consortium that built the two focal plane instruments, HFI and LFI. The Jodrell Bank Observatory at The University of Manchester produced critical elements of the LFI receiver modules. Cardiff University, STFC RAL and SEA were involved with hardware development for HFI, while various UK research groups including Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford form the London Planck Analysis Centre and Cambridge Planck Analysis Centre. These groups are involved with data analysis and simulation for the HFI data analysis and simulation software Planck all-sky image and the CMB The all-sky picture is of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when it was just 380 000 years old.

At that time, the young Universe was filled with a hot dense soup of interacting protons, electrons and photons at about 2700ºC. When the protons and electrons joined to form hydrogen atoms, the light was set free. As the Universe has expanded, this light today has been stretched out to microwave wavelengths, equivalent to a temperature of just 2.7 degrees above absolute zero.

This 'cosmic microwave background' – CMB – shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities at very early times, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today.

According to the standard model of cosmology, the fluctuations arose immediately after the Big Bang and were stretched to cosmologically large scales during a brief period of accelerated expansion known as inflation.

Planck was designed to map these fluctuations across the whole sky with greater resolution and sensitivity than ever before. By analysing the nature and distribution of the seeds in Planck's CMB image, we can determine the composition and evolution of the Universe from its birth to the present day.

Planck data A series of scientific papers describing the new results will be published on 22 March.

The new data from Planck are based on the first 15.5 months of its all-sky surveys. Launched in 2009, Planck was designed to map the sky in nine frequencies using two state-of-the-art instruments: the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), which includes the frequency bands 30󈞲 GHz, and the High Frequency Instrument (HFI), which includes the frequency bands 100� GHz. HFI completed its survey in January 2012, while LFI continues to operate.

Planck's first all-sky image was released in 2010 and the first scientific data were released in 2011. Since then, scientists have been extracting the foreground emissions that lie between us and the Universe's first light to reveal the CMB presented in this release. The next set of cosmology data will be released in early 2014.

Contact: Julia Short
Press Officer
UK Space Agency
Tel: +44 (0)1793 418069
Mobile: +44 (0)7770 276721
Email: julia.short@ukspaceagency.bis.gsi.gov.uk

UK Space Agency The UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. It is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provides a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions.

The Agency is responsible for ensuring that the UK retains and grows a strategic capability in the space-based systems, technologies, science and applications. It leads the UK's civil space programme in order to win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens. The UK Space Agency:

Co-ordinates UK civil space activity Encourages academic research Supports the UK space industry Raises the profile of UK space activities at home and abroad Increases understanding of space science and its practical benefits Inspires our next generation of UK scientists and engineers Licences the launch and operation of UK spacecraft Promotes co-operation and participation in the European Space programme

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Planck challenges our understanding of the Universe

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