It is a superstructure that contains Galaxies grouped into clusters and clusters of clusters.
It is potentially the largest object known in the universe, with a length of 13,000 million light years and a mass of 200 four -year -old (200 with 24 zeros) of stars, scientists affirm.
The massive structure was baptized Quipu, in honor of an Inca system to count and store numbers through cubes on strings.
And like a rope of the Inca system, Quipu is a complex object: it is formed by a long filament and multiple side filaments.
Quipu now potentially displaces other supercumulous that had the record of the largest object of the known universe.
The finding appears a preliminary investigation on the Arxiv website. (The study has not yet been published in a magazine reviewed by peers but the researchers reported that it was accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics).
Connected matter
The universe seems to be organized in huge masses of matter connected to each other.
The planets are grouped into a solar system, which in turn is part of a galaxy.
The galaxies are joined to form clusters that are grouped into supercupulous supercoummers and even clusters.
Astronomers believe that this progression probably continues but currently the observation of the cosmos is limited by the available instruments.
The superstructures that were now identified are extremely massive objects that contain groups of clusters and galaxies.
They are so massive that they challenge our understanding of how our universe evolved.
The team of researchers, led by Hans Bohringer of the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics, He identified five superstructure within a range of approximately 425 million to 815 million light years from the earth.
The identified objects were the Shapley supercoumulus, which was once considered the largest supercoum of the local universe; the Superstructure Serpens-Corona Borealis; the Hercules supercumulus; the sculptor-pegasus superstructure and, finally, Quipu.
“This entity, which we have called Quipu, is the largest cosmic structure discovered to date,” scientists write in their article.
“These superstructures contain about 45% of the clusters of galaxies, 30% of galaxies, 25% of the matter and occupy a volume fraction of 13%, thus constituting an important part of the known universe,” they add.
In quipus, made with knotted strings, knots contain information based on color, order and number. “This perspective gives the best impression of superstructure as a long filament with small side filaments, and it was what led to Quipu’s name”The researchers explain.
In their work, Bohringer and its researchers found Quipu and the other four superstructures at a distance between 130 and 250 MPC (Megapársec – 1 megapatsec = 3.26 million light years).
To identify them they used X -ray radiation and simulations of the behavior of the galaxies and analyzed the superslectructures using the so -called Classix clusters (large -scale cosmic structure in X -rays).
X -ray galaxies clusters can contain thousands of galaxies and a large amount of very hot intracumulus gas that emits X -rays.
These emissions are the key to map the mass of superstructure. X -rays draw the dense regions of matter concentration and the underlying cosmic network.
Thus, emissions are as signs to identify superstructure.
Other competitors
Despite Quipu’s mass size and that he now potentially occupies the first place in the list of the largest objects in the universe, he does not lack competitors.
For example, the Laniakea supercumulus that has a diameter of around 520 million light years.
And there is also the Great Wall Sloan (SGW), discovered in 2003, which is believed to extend more than 1,000 million light years.
But so far the largest known superstructure in the universe is, technically, the great wall of Hercules Corona-Boreal.
This is a mysterious concentration of matter that measures more than 10,000 million light years in length and covers 11% of the observable universe.
But it is only the largest technically because it had not been confirmed that it is a unique and interconnected object, as Hans Bohringer explained to the Earthsky website.
All these superstructures were now relegated with Quipu’s finding.
Professor Bohringer, however, does not believe that Quipu will maintain the first place of superstructures for a long time.
“It is possible that there are larger structures (most likely) if we inspect increasing cosmic volumes” in the most distant universe, the researcher told Earthsky.
Objects that will collapse
But beyond identifying these “supergigants,” scientists claim that the finding can help us our understanding of the universe.
A Quipu size structure has to affect its environment, and understanding those effects is essential to understand the cosmos.
Studying Quipu and their giant sisters, scientists say, will help understand how galaxies already improve observation and measurement models to better understand the cosmos.
But more research will be needed to understand the importance and influence of these superstructures.
In addition, scientists underline that as the cosmos evolves, Quipu and the other superstructures will not persist eternally.
“In the future cosmic evolution, these superstructures are intended to fragment in several units that collapse. Therefore, they are transient configurations, ”explain Bohringer and his team.
But they add that “at present, they are special physical entities with characteristic properties and special cosmic environments that deserve special attention.”