What are the cosmic dark ages?
The era after the early universe cooled and before the first stars switched on.
Ask your own in the app → TopicCosmology · Physics & Space
What can the oldest light tell us about the universe?
Cosmology studies the universe as a whole: its origin, contents and growth. The papers we have covered ask whether the universe briefly lit up during its dark ages and whether radio maps of hydrogen could measure how gravity builds cosmic structure.
Paper by paper
The papers we've covered
- PHYSICS Cosmology
Physical Review Letters9 min listen
What Happened When Two Black Holes Collided?
On September 14, 2015, two detectors felt space itself stretch by far less than the width of a proton. The cause: two black holes merging into one.
Peer-reviewed Two-detector observation1 event Strong evidence
- PHYSICS Cosmology
arXiv9 min listen
Can Radio Hydrogen Maps Test Gravity Across the Cosmos?
Falling galaxies squash the cosmic map in a way that measures gravity. Could a South African radio telescope see it in the faint glow of hydrogen?
Preprint Simulation and forecast Preliminary evidence
- PHYSICS Cosmology
arXiv9 min listen
Did the Universe Light Up Briefly in Its Dark Ages?
Did a brief burst of ionization light up the universe long before the first stars? This study finds today's oldest light mildly prefers one.
Preprint Cosmological data fits Preliminary evidence
Questions people ask
Short answers, from the papers.
Can hydrogen maps test gravity?
Simulations suggest a South African radio survey could measure how galaxies fall together, given outside data.
Ask your own in the app →Are these results confirmed?
No. One finds a mild preference in the data, the other is a simulation and forecast.
Ask your own in the app →Keep up with Physics & Space research, ten minutes a paper.
The papers that matter in this hub, explained, and you can ask each one questions.
