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A cold spot in the oldest radiation in the universe could be the first sign of a cosmic glitch that might have originated shortly after the Big Bang, British and Spanish scientists say.
They think this spot - detected on satellite maps of microwave radiation - might be a cosmic defect or texture, a holdover from the universe's infancy. But they said their theory would need confirmation.
Such defects or textures, they theorise, reflect a flaw in the pattern of the universe as it formed - think of a snag in pantyhose or a flaw in a diamond.
They said it could change completely the view of how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
The study appears in the journal Science.
The scientists based this theory on an analysis of a large cold spot in the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the heat glow left over from the formation of the universe. The cold spot was discovered in 2003 by Nasa's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite, and its presence has been the subject of many theories, said Al Kogut of the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Centre.
Dr Kogut said if this texture theory is proven, it would offer a window into the universe shortly after the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago, showing places where the universe was expanding and cooling.
- Reuters
