Ever since the concept of “matter” was introduced to our understanding, scientists and enthusiasts alike have been hindered by the mystery surrounding anti-matter. Based on existing theories, the Big Bang would have presumably produced both matter and anti-matter in entirely equal amounts. In this scenario, they would have instantly canceled each other out. In the end, matter “won” in the universe, creating all that exists to the human eye today. Recently, however, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has picked up bizarre high-energy light that could explain how matter ultimately overpowered anti-matter.
The telescope discovery shows signs of a critical magnetic field
To delve into these tensions between matter and anti-matter, we have to examine the evidence. Many scientists claim unequivocally that the universe contained equal amounts of both matter and anti-matter (with equal yet opposing charges) since its conception. Currently, the presence of anti-matter is diminished, and the true mystery that lingers searches for a precise explanation as to why matter dominated — and why it even exists — in the universe.
The specific gamma light rays that the Fermi telescope distinguished took on a spiral-shaped imprint, informing researchers that they most probably sprung from a magnetic field that had formed nanoseconds after the Big Bang. They speculate that within this magnetic field lies the evidence that the amount of matter truly surpasses that of anti-matter.
Tanmay Vachaspati, a physics professor at Arizona State University and the leader of this research, has found that properties identified in the gamma ray data indicate an extremely large production of matter over anti-matter in our early universe. Further analysis of the ray’s imprints showed that the magnetic field is primarily left-handed. This is especially significant, since anti-matter would have largely produced fields of a right-hand orientation.
If correct, magnetic field theory could lead to more finds on anti-matter
Despite the great feasibility of this explanation, there remains the slightest margin of error. The next step would be to gather even more data given by the Fermi telescope, and extract additional signs that indicate the solid presence matter, and to prove the correlation between matter and the magnetic field, as well as the near-absolute nonexistence of anti-matter in the field.
NASA telescope detects strange gamma rays — mystery of anti-matter explained?
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