Too many disk galaxies than theory allows: Study
Bonn [Germany], February 7 : The Standard Model of Cosmology has described how the universe came into being according to the view of most physicists. Now, researchers at the University of Bonn studied the evolution of galaxies within this model and found considerable discrepancies with actual observations.
The University of St. Andrews in Scotland and Charles University in the Czech Republic were also involved in the study. The results were published in the 'Astrophysical Journal'.
Most galaxies visible from Earth resemble a flat disk with a thickened center. They are therefore similar to the sports equipment of a discus thrower. According to the Standard Model of Cosmology, however, such disks should form rather rarely.
This was because, in the model, every galaxy was surrounded by a halo of dark matter. This halo was invisible, but exerted a strong gravitational pull, on nearby galaxies due to its mass. "That's why we keep seeing galaxies merging with each other in the model universe," explained Prof. Dr Pavel Kroupa of the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn.
This crash has two effects, the physicist explained, "First, the galaxies penetrate in the process, destroying the disk shape. Second, it reduces the angular momentum of the new galaxy created by the merger." Put simply, this greatly decreased its rotational speed.
The rotating motion normally ensured that the centrifugal forces acting during this process cause a new disk to form. However, if the angular momentum is too small, a new disk will not form at all.
( Details and picture courtesy ANI, the content is auto-generated from the feed.)
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