Studies say time runs 5 times slower in the early universe

One of the consequences of Einstein’s theory of relativity, “time dilation,” was first observed in the light of quasars in the early universe. According to the authors of the achievement, an Australian astrophysicist and statistician, Seeing the early universe running in slow motion was possible by using a series of quasars as “clocks”.

Physicists became aware of this after astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered in the 1920s that the universe was expanding. The expansion proposed by Einstein should occur over time. This means that from our current point of view, the past of the distant (ancient) universe moves more slowly. However, determining how slow it was depended on looking back as far as possible.

University of Sydney astrophysicist Geraint Lewis, lead author of the study, explains in a statement: “When we look back at a time when the universe was a little over a billion years old, we see time flowing five times slower. If you were there, in that primordial universe, a second may seem like a second, but from our position in more than 12 billion years in the future, this first time looks like it will take a very long time.”.

How was time observed in quasars?

The paper, titled “Detection of cosmological time dilation of high redshift quasars,” published Monday (3) in the journal Nature Astronomy, contradicted previous research using supernovae. To verify the universe in slow motion, about half its age. The new observation of quasars reversed this time horizon to be “only” one-tenth the age of the universe.

“Where supernovae appear as a single flash of light, making them easier to study, quasars are more complex, like an ongoing fireworks display,” Lewis said. Along with statistician Brendon Brewer, analyzed the details of 190 quasars observed over two decades. The data were compared with different wavelengths: green and red light and infrared spectrum.

The researchers observed that these ancient cosmological objects “blink” in slow motion compared to newer quasars, radically expanding the number of quasars and the study time. The new data and analyzes obtained show that, The “unintelligible ticking of quasars” behaves exactly as Einstein’s relativity predicteddenotes Lewis in recent assessments.