April 17, 1997
By Dann Hayes, (913) 864-8855, email [email protected]
Other contacts: Tom Rickey, University of Rochester, (716) 275-7954, [email protected]
RESEARCHERS FIND EVIDENCE UNIVERSE MAY HAVE AN AXIS
LAWRENCE - The universe, like the Earth, may have its own axis, according to observational data collected by researchers at the University of Kansas and University of Rochester in New York.
The findings are reported in the April 21 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. The research brings into question Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which is based on assumptions of a centerless, directionless universe, as well as upon the constancy of the speed of light.
"Our observational data suggest that there is a mysterious axis, a kind of cosmological North Star, that orients the universe," said John Ralston, a KU professor of physics and astronomy.
Ralston and Borge Nodland, a research fellow at the Rochester Theory Center for Optical Science and Engineering at the University of Rochester, made the discovery after analyzing radio waves emitted from distant galaxies. The data they looked at have been published over the years by several independent groups of radio astronomers.
Ralston and Nodland's research suggests that the plane of polarization of radio waves undergoes "a corkscrew rotation as the waves travel across the universe," Nodland said. "The details of the rotation provide indirect evidence of a universal axis ... not unlike an axis of rotation."
To visualize a "corkscrew rotation" of the universe, imagine tying one end of a rope to a doorknob and shaking the other end up and down, Ralston said. The waves of the rope stay in one flat plane of vibration.
"With regard to the radio waves," Ralston said, "the flat plane twists around like a screw as it moves along. It takes about a billion light years for the plane to twist once. And what makes this very strange, in addition to an expected dependence on the distance of travel, the rotation depends systematically on the direction the radio waves travel as well."
"It is not clear how to interpret our findings," said Nodland, a former KU graduate student. "One possibility would be to revise the laws of light and electromagnetism."
"Traditionally, physicists have believed that light has to go at a universal speed," Ralston said. "A simple interpretation of what we found is that light may travel at different speeds due to some interaction."
Ralston and Nodland say there are a number of other possible interpretations, and their "conclusions are only as good as the data." They stress that the effect of this universal axis is so small that their findings do not necessarily contradict previous findings.
The research was funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and K*STAR, the Kansas Science and Technology Advanced Research program. K*STAR is funded by the NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and with matching state funds through the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation.
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Locate artwork of phenomenon, at http://www.rochester.edu/pr/releases/art/borge/borge.htm
Locate more information at http://www.cc.rochester.edu/college/rtc/Borge/aniso.html
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