Kyu-Hyun Jae, a professor of physics and astronomy at Sejong University in Seoul, has published a study that presents “irrefutable evidence” for the existence of modified gravity at the low acceleration limit. The discovery could have huge implications for astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics in general.
The study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, is based on observations from the Gaia space telescope. Kyu-Hyun Che’s team focused on the study of wide double systems – systems consisting of two stars that are far apart.
The study used a sample of 26,500 wide double systems. Scientists studied the stars’ gravitational interactions, focusing on calculating the gravitational accelerations that stars experience as a function of their distance from each other and other characteristics.
The results of the study showed that when two stars orbit each other with accelerations below one nanometer per second squared, they deviate from the standard model – the predicted values of Newton’s universal law of gravitation and Einstein’s general theory of relativity. For accelerations below 0.1 nanometers per second squared, the observed acceleration is about 30 to 40 percent higher than predicted by Newton’s and Einstein’s theories.
However, for accelerations above 10 nanometers per second squared, the results of the study agree well with the Newton-Einstein predictions. This finding raises many questions and is a mystery to scientists. It is also interesting that theoretical physicist Mordechai Milgrom of the Weizmann Institute in Israel predicted this “violation of Newton-Einstein theory” 40 years ago.
Milgrom proposed a new theoretical framework called modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), which is now known as Milgrom dynamics. Previously, this theory was considered alternative and had no practical confirmation. However, new observations of wide double systems have shown not only the violation of the laws of Newtonian dynamics, but also the manifestation of the effect of the external field of modified gravity, which corresponds to the MOND structure.
The researchers claim that we may be witnessing a new revolution in physics. However, independent analysis is required to confirm these results. If the detected anomaly is confirmed as a factor that violates the laws of Newtonian dynamics, it could be of great importance for our understanding of gravity and the universe as a whole.
“The unprecedented precision of the Gaia satellite, the large and carefully selected sample that Che used, and his detailed analysis make the results reliable enough to qualify as a discovery,” says Xavier Hernandez, a professor at UNAM University in Mexico.
