The cosmic strings in the form of spacetime folds left over from the Big Bang may be the source of electromagnetic fields for all objects in the universe, including the galaxy that contains Earth.
According to Space, previous studies have pointed out a fact: The universe was born in a state of electrical neutrality. However, as we know today, most astronomical objects possess magnetic fields, whether strong or weak.
Something has disturbed the primordial universe, igniting the formation of magnetic fields. “Cosmic strings” could be the answer.
Cosmic strings – mysterious spacetime folds – (Photo: Baac3nes)
Research from the School of Physics at the University of Hyderabad (India) explains: “Neutral gas cannot generate a magnetic field on its own. But when the universe has an initial ‘seed’ magnetic field, it can be amplified as the universe develops, as neutral gas gradually transforms into electrically charged plasma. The origin of that first ‘seed’ magnetic field remains a long-standing mystery in astronomy.”
Using models based on data from the Big Bang and the magnetic fields of cosmic objects, scientists have directed their search towards galaxies and galaxy clusters.
Galaxies and galaxy clusters also maintain a synthetic magnetic field in addition to the magnetic objects they contain, such as our Earth. The magnetic field of a galaxy is usually very weak, only a fraction of a millionth of Earth’s magnetic field, but it can extend for millions of light-years.
Our Earth can generate and maintain its own magnetosphere through activities deep within its core, although it may also have been initially activated by the mysterious forces that astronomers are currently seeking. However, galaxies do not have this capability.
Therefore, scientists have been searching for the source that nourishes the magnetic field “from nothing” of galaxies, which are the tangled cosmic strings.
According to the authors, cosmic strings are actually spacetime folds, the “defects” left in the universe from the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago and continue to be maintained through one defect after another during the separation of forces.
This hypothetical invisible object leaves ripples in spacetime as it moves, changing the temperature and density of small pockets within the plasma and causing electric charges to move, resulting in that plasma becoming electrically charged and forming “seeds” of magnetic fields. Weak, but enough to initiate.
As cosmic strings sweep through and depart, the electrically charged plasma can be compressed and cooled, forming stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters. This process of compressing plasma may have amplified the magnetic fields to the intensity that astronomical objects possess today.
The emergence of those charged particles in plasma persists long after, with some waves having “washed over” primordial Earth in the form of gravitational waves.
While today’s science lacks the equipment to specifically capture cosmic strings, the authors believe that with this initial discovery serving as a “guiding star,” the gravitational wave detectors currently being developed will help identify cosmic strings somewhere in the vast reaches of space.
This research has just been published online in the arXiv database.
