POST Online Media Lite Edition



 

Gravitational waves may have made human life possible

Christian Fernsby |
Some key elements in our biological makeup may come from astrophysical events that occur because gravitational waves exist, a research team headed by John R. Ellis of Kings College London suggests.

Article continues below





In particular, iodine and bromine are found on Earth thanks to a particular nuclear process that happens when neutron stars collide.

In turn, orbiting neutron star pairs inspiral and collide due to their emissions of energy in the form of gravitational waves. There may thus be a direct path from the existence of gravitational waves to the existence of mammals.

Humans are mostly made up of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, with many additional trace elements. There are 20 elements essential to human life.

Those with an atomic number less than 35 are produced in supernovae, implosions of stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel and collapsed inward. The collapse results in an explosion that spews their atoms all over the universe.

But two elements are provided by other means—iodine, needed in key hormones produced by the thyroid, and bromine, used to create collagen scaffolds in tissue development and architecture.

Thorium and uranium have been indirectly important for human life, as their radioactive decays in Earth's interior heat the lithosphere and allow tectonic activity.

The movement of tectonic plates removes and submerges carbon from the crust of the planet, which is itself removed from the atmosphere via water reacting with carbon dioxide and silicates, avoiding the possibility of a runaway greenhouse effect like has happened on Venus.

About half the heavy elemental atoms on Earth (heavier than iron) are produced by what's known as the "r-process"—the rapid neutron-capture process.

The r-process occurs when a heavy atomic nucleus captures a succession of free neutrons before the nucleus has had a chance to decay (usually by beta decay).

With a high enough density of free neutrons, calculated to be about 1024 per cubic centimeter, and at high temperatures, around a billion Kelvin, neutrons are absorbed and heavier isotopes of an element are synthesized.

Ellis and his colleagues calculate that the r-process has provided 96% of the abundance of 127I on Earth, an isotope essential for human life, and most of the abundance of bromine and gadolinium in the Earth's crust, plus all of the Earth's thorium and uranium and a fraction of the molybdenum and cadmium.

Where does the r-process occur? One possibility is the material ejected during the rebound from a core-collapse supernova, the explosions of stars near the end of their thermonuclear lifetimes. But there is long-standing uncertainty in the detailed physics of this process.

One phenomenon where the r-process does occur is the merger of two neutron stars, called a kilonova. Such mergers are directly caused by gravitational waves.

As the binary pair spiral towards one another over hundreds of millions of years, they radiate an enormous amount of energy in the form of gravitational waves near the end. In fact, it was just such an event that produced the gravitational wave event GW170817 detected in 2017 at the LIGO and Virga gravitational wave observatories in the United States. The amount of energy can be huge—trillions of trillions of watts in the last few milliseconds.

Kilonovae outbursts are important sites of the r-process, as neutron stars are made almost entirely of neutrons. Besides the gravitational wave observatories, other detectors detected GW170817 in the electromagnetic spectrum, and found spectroscopic evidence of the material created and tossed out from the merger.

The paper concludes that the iodine essential for human life was "probably produced by the r-process in the collisions of neutron stars that were induced by the emissions of gravitational waves, as well as other essential heavy elements." The group suggests searching for 129I in lunar regolith, which is uncontaminated by manmade sources.

"Neutron star collisions occur because binary systems lose energy by emitting gravitational waves," said Ellis, "so these fundamental physics phenomena may have made human life possible."

Their paper, "Do we owe our existence to gravitational waves?," is available on the arXiv preprint server.


What to read next

New telescope to detect gravitational wave events
Ancient signals emerged just fractions of second after Big Bang
After 100 years Einstein's gravitational waves detected

Winter storm moving across U.S.

 
A hyperactive weather pattern will bring an expansive low pressure system across mainland U.S., resulting in widespread impactful weather to progress from west to east across the country through the next few days.
 
 

Latest

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 2 to 588
Massachusetts Governor Healey welcomes Jordan king
Attorney General coalition probing asset managers’ activity regarding Chinese investments
Amazon announces 1,000 new UK apprenticeship opportunities for 2025

NEWS

U.S.: Pacific storm will bring strong winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow

EPPO probes steel import tax fraud with searches in UK and Germany
Police investigate extensive data breach on Valio’s network
U.S.: Prolonged heavy rain and snowfall
Croatia: Investigation launched against 2 individuals and 1 company suspected of subsidy fraud
Latvia-Sweden subsea cable damaged in Baltic Sea
 

BUSINESS

Cable laying begins for Tyrrhenian Link interconnector in Italy

Construction of Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline to begin by end-2025
Six contractors set to bid for Stad ship tunnel in Norway
New Cebu International Container Port construction begins
Baltic States join the European continental electricity grid
U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs to 586
 

Trending Now

Winter storm moving across U.S.

Massachusetts Governor Healey welcomes Jordan king

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 2 to 588

Novartis opens 40 mln euro plant in Slovenia


POLITICS

Trump raises aluminum tariffs to 25 pct, ends exemptions on steel and aluminum

Greece to protest Italian sale of aerospace giant Piaggio to Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar
South Africa raises national minimum wage to $1.55 per hour
Moldova announces tender for constructing wind, solar parks worth 200 mln euros
Denmark supports hydrogen pipeline to Germany with $1.1bn of subsidies
EU invests over €1.2 billion in cross-border infrastructure
 

Today We Recommend

Attorney General coalition probing asset managers’ activity regarding Chinese investments


Highlights 

Amazon announces 1,000 new UK apprenticeship opportunities for 2025

NIB provides loan to Tønder Biogas for one of Europe’s largest biogas facilities

bp and Iberdrola begin construction of Spain’s largest green hydrogen plant


COMPANIES

Novartis opens 40 mln euro plant in Slovenia

NIB provides loan to Tønder Biogas for one of Europe’s largest biogas facilities
Amadix to develop innovative diagnostic tests for early cancer detection
bp and Iberdrola begin construction of Spain’s largest green hydrogen plant
Cold-Link Logistics will create 123 new jobs in Robeson County, North Carolina
ArcelorMittal plans Alabama mill to produce electrical steel, will create 1,300+ jobs
 

CAREERS

Ruslan Pereira promoted to head of sales for Lindemann’s South American region

Nazeem Noordali appointed CEO of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation
Inizio appoints Colin Stanley as chief commercial officer
Bridgewest Group names operating partner and general manager, Europe
Keith Hale named group CEO to Unite Titian Software & Labguru (BioData)
Solithor appoints new CEO
 

ECONOMY

U.S. becomes New Zealand's second largest export destination

Indonesia goes from $0.6 billion deficit to $5.9 billion surplus
Greece to repay $5.3 billion bailout debt early
Fraser Institute: Canada’s debt ranking falls from best in G7 to 7th worst
Kuwait reports $5.2 bln budget deficit in FY 2023-24
Eurozone reports modest Q1 GDP growth, stable annual inflation
 

EARNINGS

Ericsson Q2 sales down but North America up

Lockton revenue $3.55 billion
Motorcar Parts of America Q4 sales $189.5 million
Limoneira Q2 revenue $44.6 million
Lululemon athletica Q1 revenue increased 10% to $2.2 billion
PVH Q1 GAAP EBIT $205 million
 

OP-ED

Micromanaging is the worst enemy of efficiency and teamwork

Niger set to monetize massive gas reserves through Saharan natural gas pipeline
Putting the brakes on EV folly that choked the market
Oil discovery in Kavango Basin may mean huge benefits for Namibians
Cape Town and Dubai battle over Africa's energy future
Is America going to lose its superpower status?
 

AGRIFISH

Higher salmon volumes and U.S. growth resulted in record Norwegian seafood exports in January

U.S. resumes cattle and bison imports from Mexico under new protocol
Canada considers lowering tebuconazole residue limit on grapes, impacting U.S. imports
How expensive was agricultural land in Europe in 2023
Iran to import 50,000 tons of potatoes to stabilize prices amid rising food costs
JBS and partners donate 3 million tags to improve livestock traceability in Pará, Brazil
 

LEADERSHIP

Study: Missing a deadline has a bigger impact than you might think

Employers prefer younger job candidates for AI roles although experienced workers perform same or better
Study finds workers misjudge wage markets
Some organizations may need to expand their hierarchical structures earlier than others
Study finds there's right way and wrong way to deliver negative feedback in workplace
Allyship is critical and its needs appreciation
 

CRIME

Commission fines Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers €5.7 million for restricting cross-border sales of clothing

BHP, Vale agree to pay $30B damages for Brazil dam disaster
Commission fines České dráhy and Österreichische Bundesbahnen €48.7 million over collusion to exclude common compe
SEC charges Keurig with making inaccurate statements regarding recyclability of K-Cup beverage pod
SEC charges John Deere with FCPA violations for subsidiary’s role in Thai bribery scheme
AG Bonta secures $3.9 million settlement with cryptocurrency company Robinhood
 

Magazine

TRAVEL

Radisson Hotel Group debuts in the heart of Tunisia’s capital city, Tunis

Morocco’s first Radisson branded hotel opens in Casablanca
Buna channels, an unreal and beautiful part of Bosnia and Herzegovina
JW Marriott unveils Mindful Haven with opening of JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi
Sotheby's Sports Week returns with fantastic artifacts
Red Roof properties open in Michigan
 

SEA, LAND, AIR

Citroën C3 Aircross, the most affordable compact SUV with 7 seats

2025 Chevrolet Equinox stands apart with fresh looks and capability
Hill Helicopters HX50, luxury in the sky
Opel Movano becomes fully equipped camper van
Porsche Panamera, new hybrid variants
Dodge Charger, 670 horsepower of electric
 

DESIGN

Cold night, hot fire pit, cool entertainment

Embellish your home with PVC panels
You'll have to hurry if you want one of 20 new Louis Vuitton watches
Luxury duvet looks good, fells good and keeps you healthy
Vacheron Constantin, watches for life and more
Schüller kitchens, where functionality marries design
 

GADGETS

MESA/Boogie Celebrates 40-year partnership with John Petrucci

reMarkable 2, monochrome tablet for your thoughts and your eyes
OnePlus Ace 3V, first with Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3
ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra, flagship with a reason
Samsung Galaxy S24 is photography powerhouse
Casette tapes are making a big comeback, and so are portable players
 

HEALTH

Human cases of anthrax reported in western Mongolia

One more barrier to developing vaccine for HIV removed
Rwanda begins world's first clinical trial for treatment of Marburg virus disease
Rwanda restricts gatherings amid Marburg virus outbreak, to begin trials of vaccine
Teksas Attorney General reaches settlement in first-of-its-kind healthcare generative AI investigation
Potentially deadly fungal disease spreading in California
 

MEANTIME

India launches space docking experiment mission

World-first carbon-14 diamond battery made
Einstein Telescope step closer
Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
India to build first phase of its own space station by 2028
Roscosmos chief approves schedule of creating Russian orbital station through 2033