新方法绘制3D宇宙模型

新方法绘制3D宇宙模型

If only calculating the distance between Earth and far-off galaxies1 was as easy as pulling out the old measuring tape. Now UBC researchers are proposing a new way to calculate distances in the cosmos2 using mysterious bursts of energy. In a study featured today in the journal Physical Review Letters, UBC researchers propose a new way to calculate cosmological distances using the bursts of energy also known as fast radio bursts. The method allows researchers to position distant galaxies in three dimensions and map out the cosmos.

"We've introduced the idea of using these new phenomena3 to study cosmological objects in the universe," said Kiyoshi Masui, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC and a global scholar with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. "We believe we'll be able to use these flashes to put together a picture of how galaxies are spread through space."

Some unknown astrophysical phenomenon is causing these bursts of energy that appear as a short flashes of radio waves. While only 10 fast radio bursts have ever been recorded, scientists believe there could be thousands of them a day.

As these fast radio bursts travel toward Earth, they spread out and arrive at different times based on their wavelengths4. The researchers propose using the delay between the arrival times of different frequencies to map the cosmos. The amount of spread in the signal that arrives on Earth gives scientists a sense of how many electrons, and by extension how much material including stars, gas and dark matter, are in between Earth and the source of the burst.

Canada's CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity5 Mapping Experiment) radio telescope could offer the first set of regular data from fast radio bursts. The project is a collaboration6 between Canadian universities UBC, McGill, and the University of Toronto and is currently under construction at the Dominion7 Radio Astrophysical Observatory8 in Penticton, Canada.

"CHIME has the potential of seeing tens to hundreds of these events per day so we can build a catalogue of events," said Kris Sigurdson, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy who is also part of the CHIME project. "If they are cosmological, we can use this information to build catalogue of galaxies."

This method could be an efficient way to build a three-dimensional image of the cosmos. The tool could also be used to map the distribution of material in the universe and inform our understanding of how it evolved.

1 galaxies

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。

We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

2 cosmos

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。

Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

3 phenomena

n.现象

参考例句：

Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。

The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

4 wavelengths

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》

Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

5 intensity

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。

The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

6 collaboration

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。

He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

7 dominion

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。

In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

8 observatory

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。

Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。