Seoul, South Korea (TEH) – A groundbreaking discovery by Korean astronomer Chae Kyuhyun of Sejong University has sent shockwaves through the scientific community, challenging the very foundation of Newton’s law of gravity. The findings, which align with the Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) theory proposed by Israeli astrophysicist Mordechai Milgrom 40 years ago, may herald a revolution in astrophysics.
Since the early 20th century, the peculiarities in the rotation of stars and gas clouds in spiral and disk galaxies have puzzled scientists. Observations have shown that galaxies rotate almost “solidly,” contrary to what Newtonian dynamics would predict. This led to the introduction of the concept of dark matter, a hypothetical substance that exerts an additional gravitational effect on stars.
However, the MOND theory, proposed in 1983, offers an alternative explanation without invoking dark matter. It adds a new term to Newton’s law of gravity, accounting for the anomalous motion of gravitating bodies at large distances.
In his recent paper, Chae Kyuhyun found “convincing” evidence for this hypothesis in stars experiencing extremely low acceleration, where the MOND theory is supposed to work. Using data from the Gaia space observatory, he analyzed the motion of 26,000 stars in wide binary systems and found a significant violation of Newton and Einstein’s gravity laws at accelerations of less than 10^−9 m/s².
Milgrom, the original proponent of MOND, highly appreciated the Korean astronomer’s work. He believes that if the anomaly is confirmed, it will have profound implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics.
The discovery was discussed at a conference at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the MOND theory. Milgrom expressed confidence in Chae’s analysis, stating, “My deep conviction is that Chae did a very thorough analysis, and was aware of all possible errors. But knowing about them does not necessarily mean avoiding them, but I hope he succeeded.”
He also pointed out that the deviations from Newtonian dynamics are predicted by a certain class of MOND theories, but not all. Nevertheless, if Chae’s results are confirmed, Milgrom said, “it will be a great triumph for MOND.”
The findings have reignited the debate between proponents of dark matter and those who believe in alternative explanations. As the scientific community awaits further research to validate or refute these findings, the potential for a paradigm shift in our understanding of the universe looms large.
The implications of this discovery reach far beyond the academic world. It challenges long-held beliefs and opens the door to new possibilities in space exploration, technology, and our comprehension of the cosmos. Only time will tell if this marks the beginning of a new era in astrophysics or merely a fascinating anomaly in our ongoing quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
