A group of researchers have made a shocking discovery about one of the most fundamental forces in our universe. According to a new paper, which is set to publish in Physics of the Dark Universe next month, gravity may have created light in the earliest days of the universe.
According to the new paper, early gravitational waves may have been so strong that they created radiation because they shook space-time so hard. It’s an intriguing discovery that rethinks what we know about gravity as a whole, despite it being one of the most fundamental forces in existence.
The basic theory behind the belief that gravity could create light rests heavily on the forcefulness and strength of gravitational waves found in the early universe, back when the early universe formed and experienced an event that scientists call inflation.
According to this proposed event, the universe expanded greatly in a very short time, creating a sloshing mess of gravitational waves that would have collided with each other over and over again. As we know them today, these waves are extremely weak and require very strong equipment to detect them.
However, in the days of the early universe, gravity-driven waves may have become very strong, giving them the ability to create light in an entirely new way. And, because these gravitational waves are literally just gravity, strong waves represent a strong point of gravitational energy.
Scientists also say it’s possible that some of the gravitational waves in the early universe were almost frozen in place, holding massive amounts of energy in one location. The scientists propose that these areas may have excited the universe’s electromagnetic field at the time, creating radiation and light.
The idea that gravity can create light is an entirely new one, and scientists will no doubt want to dig into more to see if it’s possible. Of course, like anything about the early universe, we only have the information we can gather today to work off of, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a definitive answer.
Still, the possibility that gravitational waves could have helped create light in the early universe is worth being excited about. It could lead to additional revelations about one of the darkest times of our universe’s existence. For now, though, we may have to settle for gravitational waves letting us see into dark holes.
