Scientists have proposed the existence of a new “fifth force” to explain a perplexing challenge to the standard model of cosmology, also

Space Has Invisible Walls Created by Mysterious 'Symmetrons,' Scientists Propose

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2022-05-16 02:30:04

Scientists have proposed the existence of a new “fifth force” to explain a perplexing challenge to the standard model of cosmology, also known as the Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, a well-corroborated framework for understanding our universe, reports a new preprint study.

This fifth force, mediated by a hypothetical new particle called a symmetron, could guide small “satellite” galaxies into strange orbits around larger galaxies that defy the predictions of the ΛCDM model. In other words, small galaxies captured by the gravitational pull of larger galaxies end up arranged in thin flat planes, or disks, almost like the rings of Saturn, whereas the model suggests they should be distributed in messy orbits all around their host galaxies. Satellites in these synced-up orbits have been seen around our own galaxy, the Milky Way, as well as its closest galactic neighbors, Andromeda and Centaurus A.

Scientists have proposed many possible explanations for this curious gap between theory and observation, known as the “satellite disk problem” or the “planes of satellites problem,” which is one of many small-scale challenges to the ΛCDM model.