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Stunted Mass-Growth of Galaxy Clusters Recently Observed by Harvard

A discovery was recently reported of the stunted mass-growth of galaxy clusters during the last 5 1/2 billion years, by researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This finding appears to involve the mysterious anti-gravity dark energy concept originally conceived to explain the 1998 supernova-based discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The Harvard researchers used NASA’s Earth-orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory to measure the hot gas in over 80 galaxy clusters in order to estimate the rate of mass growth for groups of galaxy clusters.

The general consensus of the galaxy-cluster researchers and interested cosmologists is that the results are compelling and that the 1998 and recent dark energy manifestations probably represent the same or similar cosmic phenomena. The parallel successes by two different astronomical techniques have confirmed the existence of a very mysterious dark energy and give hope of further scientific progress.

Some relevant published comments by the galaxy-cluster researchers to journalists are as follows:

“Comparing their data to models of cosmic evolution, Dr. [Alexey] Vikhlinin [of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics] found that the most massive clusters are only about a fifth as plentiful today as they would be in a universe without dark energy. ‘The clusters’, he said, ‘are still growing, but very slowly.'”

“‘What we find is that the growth of structure [of galaxy clusters] has slowed down during the last 5 1/2 billion years, and this is unmistakably a signature of dark energy,’ said Alexey Vikhlinin.”

“‘This result could be explained as arrested development of the universe,’ said Alexey Vikhlinin. ‘This stifling of growth is the unmistakable signature of an antigravitational force that astronomers have labeled dark energy.'”

“Dr. [Alexey] Vikhlinin lamented that there were not yet very many such theories to knock down yet, but there were sure to be more on the table soon.”

“Vikhlinin and colleagues used NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory (http://chandra.harvard.edu/) to measure the hot gas in 86 galaxy clusters. These groups of hundreds or thousands of galaxies are filled with 100-million-degree-gas that can best be detected with X-ray telescopes.”

Is there a dark energy theory that is compatible with the supernova-based accelerating expansion of the universe observed in 1998 that also can explain the recent Harvard-Smithsonian discovery of the stunted ordinary-mass growth of galaxy clusters during the last 5 1/2 billion years? Let us try one such theory/explanation as follows:

If for some reason the mass of all the dark matter of the universe were continuously eroding and thus declining, we would not be surprised to observe the stunting of the ordinary-mass growth of galaxy clusters over time. There are two reasons for this:

Firstly, the eroding dark matter mass around each galaxy is about ten times greater than the ordinary mass of each galaxy. Secondly, the ordinary-mass growth of galaxy clusters relies upon the gravitational accretion into the clusters of nearby stars, dust, gas, and galaxies located outside the clusters, which gravitational accretion is significantly restrained by the eroding and declining dark matter mass.

Thus, both the 1998 and recent Harvard/NASA dark energy observations can be plausibly explained by means of the erosion of the dark matter mass throughout the universe via synchrotron emission of infrared, ultraviolet, and soft X-ray photons, provided that dark matter is indeed comprised primarily of relativistic-protons orbiting galaxies and groups of galaxies. There is considerable published evidence supporting the existence of relativistic-proton dark matter.

Drexler’s three books provide more than fifteen cosmic-phenomena examples that justify the reliance on relativistic-proton dark matter. These works disclose and explain many cosmic mystery phenomena that only can be explained in a plausible manner by evoking the relativistic-proton dark matter. They include the source of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, the nature of the cosmic web, how the big bang satisfied the Second Law of Thermodynamics, how cosmic inflation’s hyper-growth of the universe started and stopped and why the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

Some published relevant comments by respected leaders in the field, about the Harvard-Smithsonian dark energy research, are as follows:

“This is very impressive and important work.”

“The results provide a crucial cross-check against the pre-existing set of cosmological results.”

“As a result, many astronomers and physicists are desperate for evidence of another explanation. Dr. [Adam] Riess said of the cosmological constant, ‘The biggest thing we could learn is by ruling that out.'”

“Indeed, several theorists said the future now looked dim for alternative theories of gravity, in particular a variant from string theory, which incorporates extra dimensions and which predicts enhanced growth of structures like galaxy clusters.”

“We’ve discovered this incredible dark energy; we don’t understand what the hell it is.”

“‘This is very impressive and important work,’ says Charles Bennett (http://cosmos.pha.jhu.edu/bennett/), who heads NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, a satellite that measures the big bang’s afterglow. ‘The results provide a crucial cross-check against the pre-existing set of cosmological results.'”

“Theorist David Spergel of Princeton University agrees, saying the fact that different techniques are all consistent is a ‘triumph.'”

“He says the new study will help pin down dark energy’s properties, paving the way for researchers to one day determine what it is.”

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