Astrophysicists discovered bridges of dark matter in space

The motion of matter in the vicinity of the Local Group

German astrophysicists from the Potsdam Astrophysical Institute, as a result of observing the movement of the nearest galaxies to us, found that between our Local group of galaxies and the Virgo Cluster stretched a thin "bridge" of  dark matter .

This conclusion may explain why it is customary for dwarf galaxies to gather in disk-shaped clusters, instead of being uniformly dispersed in space. These discs can have millions of light years in diameter, and their thickness can be as little as tens of thousands of light years. Moreover, the center of the disk is not far from a large galaxy - such as our Milky Way or the Andromeda Nebula.

In his workscientists note that the fact of the uneven distribution of galaxies in space is confirmed by numerous observations, while all computer simulations show that in the absence of other factors such a distribution of dwarf galaxies should not be.

Apparently, dark matter serves as a mysterious factor that, through gravity, affects the distribution of dwarf galaxies.



On a large scale, matter in the Universe is not distributed evenly evenly — it accumulates around “threads” connected to each other. Scientists believe that these threads are bridges of dark matter, spreading through space.

As stated in the paper, “analysis shows that the Local Group of galaxies and the Centaurus A galaxy are in a thread that stretches along the Virgo Cluster and is compressed due to the expansion of the Local Void. Four of the five planes of the satellite galaxies are aligned with the axis of pressure exerted by the Local void. "

As one of the authors of the work, Noam Libskind, described the incident: “For the first time, we have received confirmation of how huge cosmic highways ferry galaxies along bridges of dark matter.” Moreover, the size of the galactic disk of dwarf galaxies is approximately 1% of the size of such a "bridge".

Virgo Cluster is a cluster of galaxies located at a distance of about 65 million light years from the Local Group. In turn, the Local Group of Galaxies is a gravitationally bound group of galaxies, including the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Triangle Galaxy (M33). The Local Group includes more than 50 galaxies. This number is constantly increasing with the discovery of new ones.

Local Void  is a huge empty space adjacent to the Local Group. It was opened in 1987, and looks like three sectors separated by filamentous bridges of matter. The size of the void is from 150 to 230 million light years across.