The Physics of the Accelerating Universe Survey (PAUS) has revealed the precise locations of more than 1 million galaxies, shedding new light on the structure and expansion of the universe. This groundbreaking achievement combines the advantages of photometric and spectroscopic surveys, providing a revolutionary approach to cosmic mapping.
The Power of PAUS
But even more remarkably, the PAUS collaboration — which involves 14 institutions worldwide, from the University of Chicago in the U.S. to Australia’s Universite de Neuchatel — has managed to do just that. Using the PAUCam camera on the 4.2-meter William Herschel Telescope in La Palma, Spain, the team has measured galaxy distances with previously unmatched accuracy.
Whereas photometric surveys image the sky in multiple wavelengths with high details and precision, and spectroscopic surveys observe known sources of light, PAUS provides good resolution at both ends. For each galaxy this technique yields a low-resolution spectrum using about 40 narrow-wavelength filters, from which the team has measured distances at an accuracy of ±0.3%, that is necessary to map the structural growth of the universe and its history.
Revealing the Riddles of The Dark Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy Today
Now, the PAUS catalog will change that landscape. It has been designed to yield measurements one percent accurate on the distances of more than 1 million galaxies, and thereby provide better maps of cosmic structure with which to test our models for dark matter and dark energy.
Dark energy, believed to make up about 70 percent of the universe, drives the accelerating expansion of space. OTOH, the nature of this mysterious force still eludes us. With the PAUS data, astronomers will be able to measure the expansion of the universe more accurately, possibly revealing new clues about dark energy.
In addition, the PAUS data will improve the calibration of current cosmological investigations like the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission and the Vera C Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Major galaxy surveys need to use and provide highly precise distance measurements, for estimating the angles of separation between galaxies that indicate their 3-D positions in space, with which PAUS can help riffing at the accuracy of these angle estimations towards a purer extraction of our understanding about large-scale structure of the universe.
Conclusion
Unorthodox cosmic survey could unlock mysteries of the cosmosThe galaxy mapping survey PAUS stands out by keeping its eye on Earth By leveraging the benefits of photometric and spectroscopic surveys, researchers have pinpointed locations for more than 1 million galaxies as they pertain to the scaffolding of cosmic web and supports expansion. This information is not only a boon to the understanding of dark matter and dark energy but will also serve as an anchor for the calibration of future cosmological surveys, thus creating a more complete map of the universe we live in.
