Observations of quasars show that time passed five times slower in the past. Roberta Duarte meteorized Brazil 07/25/2023 07:00 5 mins
Albert Einstein popularized the mathematician Hermann Minkowski’s idea The universe has a time dimension. In his studies, the universe would consist of a structure called space-time contains the three spatial dimensions that we know and an additional time dimension.
Einstein also showed this Spacetime can be warped and the two are relative due to their position and speed. We have already observed that due to the warping of space-time by the mass of the Earth Time on the surface runs differently than time on satellites.
Due to the expansion of the universe itself, this was to be expected. Spacetime is being stretched by what we call dark energy and similar effects are to be expected. The new study, published in the journal Nature, observed this phenomenon slowed the passage of time in the young universe.
time is relative
The General Theory of Relativity states that time is relative, That is, the way time passes is relative, dependent on speed and position one occupies in the universe. This phenomenon is noticeable even on the surface of the earth.
GPS satellites have relativistic corrections because they are subject to the effects of space-time distortion caused by the Earth’s mass.
The closer you are to a massive object, the slower time passes compared to a greater distance. For a local observer, however, time passes normally. We find this effect in the 2014 film Interstellar.
The relativity of time in the film Interstellar
In the movie Interstellar, astronauts Cooper and Amelia spend a few hours visiting a planet near a supermassive black hole. The black hole is a region of extreme distortion, and the effects are amplified at its edge.
In the film Interstellar (2014) we can see how the dilation effect is created by the warping of space-time. Credit: Warner Bros./Christopher Nolan.
When they return to the ship that was at the farthest point of the planet, they find the old astronaut Romilly. The time dilation then becomes explicit: Time passed normally for Cooper and Amelia, but when they returned to the ship, they found that time had passed more slowly for them.
time dilation in the universe
We know that the universe is expanding. This means that spacetime is being stretched, which is a form of distortion. and that a time dilation called cosmological time dilation should occur.
The idea behind this is that looking into the past gives us external observers the impression that things are moving in slow motion and that time is passing more slowly.
If we were there, time would flow normally, like Cooper and Amelia in Interstellar. But compared to us For outside observers, time passes more slowly in the past.
quasars
Quasars are supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies that feed at very high speeds. They were common when the universe was younger and we can see them today.
When a black hole is energized, Matter around it glows and we can see that glow. Physical models can explain what happens to matter as it accumulates. Researchers have studied quasars from when the universe was only a billion years old.
The universe in slow motion
Discovering these quasars It seemed to take a long time for the signals to arrive, as if the object was in slow motion. If you add the resulting redshift – i.e. the redshifted wavelength – The researchers concluded that time was slowing down.
The article even states that if we observed time, it would pass five times slower than it does today. This information could give us additional evidence of the expansion of the universe and allow us to better understand the causes of this expansion.