Multifractal spectrum observed in the Universe distribution of galaxies

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Nature's fractal patterns should, in theory, exhibit some common characteristics as revealed by a number of space missions carried out in the neighborhood of Earth's space environment. Here, we show that the overall shape of the multifractal spectrum of galaxies resembles that of NASA's Voyager mission observed at the heliospheric boundaries. We have, therefore, employed the same method-grounded on well-known results from up to one million galaxies in the updated redshift database-to identify a reliable multifractal spectrum of the distribution of galaxies on cosmological scales. We show that the observed spectrum fits the weighted Cantor set, which serves as a template for the turbulence observed in the heliosphere. In the universe, this would be indicative of the galaxy distribution's nonlinear multifractal scaling. For galaxies receding from the Sun at different distances, the degree of multifractality somewhat varies but is smaller than that inside the heliosphere. This could be connected to the presence of voids in the large-scale distribution of matter. Some variations from the Hubble law for the ideal uniform expansion might explain a possible asymmetry of the spectrum. We anticipate that finding nonlinear fractal scaling laws of galaxies will be a major step toward the ultimate explanation of the matter distribution in the Universe, especially fitting on the hundredth anniversary of discovery of the first galaxy beyond the Milky Way.

Source: Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science

DOI: 10.1063/5.0289242

Authors: W. M. Macek, D. Wójcik

Institutions: Centrum Badań Kosmicznych, Polish Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Narodowe Centrum Nauki

Award: G5077859329