Discovery of a super gravitational basin in the Universe, encompassing our galaxy

A new cosmic map now allows us to better understand the giant structures that govern the dance of galaxies.

A recent study reveals how certain cosmic regions, called basins of gravitational attraction, influence the large-scale dynamics ofUniverse.

By exploiting data from the Cosmicflows-4 catalog, compiling the distances and speeds of 56,000 galaxies, an international team applied sophisticated algorithms to identify these regions dominated by gravity. Among these discoveries, two structures stand out: the Sloan Wall and the superweapons by Shapley. These new results suggest that the Milky Way may be part of the larger Shapley Basin, a discovery that challenges previous theories about cosmic flows. This changes our understanding of how massive structures shape the evolution of galaxies.

Led by Dr. Valade, the team mapped these basins of attraction for the first time based on the standard cosmological model ΛCDM. This model describes the formation of galaxies from quantum fluctuations appearing after cosmic inflation.

Using a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm, researchers were able to reconstruct the structure of the Universe up to a distance of a billion light years. This made it possible to highlight the most influential gravitational basins in the movement of galaxies.

The Laniakea supercluster, long thought to be our galactic region, today turns out to be integrated into an even larger structure: the Shapley basin. Additionally, the Sloan Wall, with a volume of 500 million cubic light years, stands out as the largest basin of gravitational attraction known to date.

Thanks to these new maps, our understanding of the gravitational forces that shape the Universe is progressing. They also reveal the importance of superstructures in the evolution of galaxies.

These discoveries offer new perspectives on the distribution of dark matter and the forces responsible for the expansion of the Universe. Such advances enrich current models and open the way to new astronomical research.

What is a basin of gravitational attraction?

A gravitational basin is a region of the Universe where gravity dominates, attracting galaxies and matter surrounding areas towards a common center. These zones form around large concentrations of mass, such as galaxy superclusters. These basins act as gravitational “sinks”, influencing the large-scale movements of galaxies within the region. They are essential for understanding the distribution and evolution of cosmic structures in the Universe.

Identifying these basins allows astronomers to explain how galaxies move and interact under the influence of gravity in a cosmological context.

What is Sloan’s Wall?

The Sloan Wall is an immense cosmic structure made up of galaxies, visible in the Universe. Discovered in 2003, it spans approximately 1.4 billion light years, making it one of the largest structures in the world.Univers observable.

Although its shape is 2D, like a long wall, its gravitational influence affects a large region. It plays a key role in the distribution of large-scale galaxies, contributing to the understanding of cosmic structures and matter flows in the Universe.

This structure is part of the cosmic web, where galaxies and galaxy clusters are organized along filaments, thus forming intergalactic walls and voids.