WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 06 Nobel Physics honours dark matter, exoplanets

This year’s Physics Laureates Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz have explored our home galaxy, the Milky Way, looking for unknown worlds. In 1995, they made the first discovery of a planet outside our solar system, an exoplanet, orbiting a solar-type star, 51 Pegasi.

• The 2019 #NobelPrize The discovery by 2019 #NobelPrize in Physics has been laureates Michel Mayor and Didier awarded with one half Queloz started a revolution in as- to James Peebles “for tronomy and over 4,000 exoplanets theoretical discoveries have since been found in the Milky KNOW WHAT Goran K Hansson (c), Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of in physical cosmology” Way. Strange new worlds are still Sciences, and academy members Mats Larrson (L) and Ulf Danielsson, announce being discovered, with an incredible winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics during a news conference at the Royal The other half wealth of sizes, forms and orbits. Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden jointly• to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “simply extraordinary”, saying ‘Revolution in astronomy’ the discovery was “the most ex- “for the discovery of citing of our careers”. an exoplanet orbiting His work showed that the The prize consists of a gold a solar-type star” matter known to us -- such as medal, a diploma and the sum stars, planets, and ourselves of nine million Swedish kronor AFP | Stockholm -- only make up five percent, (about $914,000 or 833,000 eu- while the other 95 are made up ros). of “unknown dark matter and The trio will receive the prize anadian-American cos- dark energy.” from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a mologist James Peebles “This is a mystery and a chal- formal ceremony in Stockholm Cand Swiss astronomers lenge to modern physics,” the on December 10, the anniversary Michel Mayor and Didier Que- academy said. of the 1896 death of scientist Al- loz yesterday won the Nobel Peebles is Albert Einstein Pro- fred Nobel who created the priz- Physics Prize for research that fessor of Science at Princeton es in his last will and testament. increases the understanding of University in the United States, In 2018, the honour went to our place in the universe. while Mayor and Queloz are Arthur Ashkin of the US, Gerard Peebles won one-half of the both professors at the Universi- Mourou of France and Donna prize “for theoretical discoveries ty of Geneva. Queloz also works Strickland of the US for laser that have contributed to our un- at the University of Cambridge inventions used for advanced derstanding of how the universe in Britain. precision instruments in correc- evolved after the Big Bang,” pro- Using custom-made instru- tive eye surgery and in industry. fessor Goran Hansson, secretary SECRETS IN THE ments at their observatory in This year’s Nobel prize sea- general of the Royal Swedish BACKGROUND RADIATION southern France in October son kicked off on Monday with Academy of Sciences, told a 1995, Mayor and Queloz were the Medicine Prize awarded to press conference. The universe was extremely hot and dense in its earliest able to detect a gaseous ball sim- Americans William Kaelin and Mayor and Queloz shared the moments, the Big Bang. Since then, the universe has ilar in size to Jupiter, orbiting a Gregg Semenza, and Britain’s other half for the first discov- been expanding, getting larger and colder. Almost star around 50 light years from Peter Ratcliffe. 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the initial radiation ery, in October 1995, of a planet our own Sun. They were honoured for re- began to travel through space. This radiation still fills outside our solar system -- an the cosmos and, coded into it, many of the universe’s Harnessing a phenomenon search into how human cells exoplanet -- orbiting a solar-type secrets are hiding. Using his theoretical models, known as the Doppler effect, sense and adapt to changing ox- star in the Milky Way. James Peebles was able to predict the shape of the which changes the colour of ygen levels, which opens up new “Their discoveries have forev- universe and the matter and energy it contains. (Below light depending on whether an strategies to fight such diseases er changed our conceptions of curve). His calculations were a good match with later object is approaching or retreat- as cancer and anaemia. the world,” the jury said. measurements of background radiation. ing from Earth, the pair proved The winners of this year’s Developed over two decades The first peak shows that the universe is the planet, known as 51 Pegasus Chemistry Prize will be an - since the mid-1960s, Peebles’ geometrically flat. i.e. two parallel lines will b, was orbiting its star. nounced on Wednesday. theoretical framework is “the never meet. The Nobel jury noted that the The Literature Prize will basis of our contemporary ideas The second peak shows that ordinary matter discovery “started a revolution follow on Thursday, with two about the Universe.” is just 5% of the matter and energy in the in astronomy” and since then laureates to be crowned after Peebles built upon Albert Ein- universe. over 4,000 exoplanets have been a sexual harassment scandal stein’s work on the origins of found in our home galaxy. forced the Swedish Academy to the Universe by looking back to The third peak shows that 26% of the postpone the 2018 award, for the the millenia immediately after universe consists of dark matter. ‘Simply extraordinary’ first time in 70 years. the Big Bang, when light rays “Strange new worlds are still On Friday the action moves to started to shoot outwards into From these three peaks, it is possible to being discovered,” challenging Norway where the Peace Prize is space. conclude that if 31% (5%+26%) of the our preconceived ideas about awarded, with bookies predict- Using theoretical tools and universe is composed of matter, then planetary systems and “forcing ing a win for Swedish teen cli- 69% must be dark energy to fulfil the calculations, he drew a link be- scientists to revise their theories mate activist Greta Thunberg on requirements for a flat universe. tween the temperature of the of the physical processes behind betting sites such as Ladbrokes. radiation emitted after the Big James Peebles took on the cosmos, with its billions of galaxies and galaxy clusters. His theoretical framework, developed the origins of planets.” The Economics Prize will Bang and the amount of matter over two decades, is the foundation of our modern understanding of the universe’s history, from the Big Bang to the In a statement, the two as - wrap up the Nobel prize season it created. present day. tronomers hailed their win as on Monday, October 14.