Subaru: Dark Matter Map Reveals the Universe's Early History

[bystander]

Dark Matter Map Begins to Reveal the Universe's Early History
Subaru Telescope | National Astronomical Observatory of Japan | 2015 July 01

[c]Figure 1: A 14 arc minute by 9.5 arc minute section of a Hyper Suprime-Cam image,
with contour lines showing the dark matter distribution. (Credit: NAOJ/HSC Project)[/c][hr][/hr]

Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the University of Tokyo and other institutions have begun a wide-area survey of the distribution of dark matter in the universe using Hyper Suprime-Cam, a new wide-field camera installed on the Subaru Telescope in Hawai'i. Initial results from observations covering an area of 2.3 square degrees on the sky toward the constellation Cancer revealed nine large concentrations of dark matter, each the mass of a galaxy cluster (Movie, Figure 1). Surveying how dark matter is distributed and how the distribution changes over time is essential to understanding the role of dark energy that controls the expansion of the universe. These first results demonstrate that astronomers now have the techniques and tools to understand dark energy. The next step is for the research team to expand the survey to cover a thousand square degrees on the sky, and thereby unravel the mystery of dark energy and the expansion of the universe.

Mapping dark matter over a wide region is key to understanding the properties of dark energy, which controls the expansion of the universe. These early results demonstrate that with current research techniques and Hyper Suprime-Cam, the team is now ready to explore how the distribution of dark matter in the universe has changed over time, unravel the mystery of dark energy, and explore the universe's expansion history with great detail.

Hyper Suprime-Cam lead developer, Dr. Satoshi Miyazaki, from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Advanced Technology Center and leader of the research team, praised the ability of the HSC for this work. "Now we know we have the both a technique and a tool for understanding dark energy. We are ready to use Hyper Suprime-Cam to create a 1,000 square degree dark matter map that will reveal the expansion history of the universe with precise detail." ...

Properties of Weak Lensing Clusters Detected on Hyper Suprime-Cam 2.3 Square Degree Field - Satoshi Miyazaki et al

• Astrophysical Journal 807(1) 22 (2015 July 01) DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/807/1/22
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1504.06974 > 27 Apr 2015