Orientation of galaxy spins relative to filaments of the large-scale structure of the Universe

TL;DR

This study analyzes the orientation of galaxy spins relative to cosmic filaments, finding a significant tendency for alignment, which supports theories of galaxy formation and large-scale structure.

Contribution

It provides the first statistically significant evidence of galaxy spin alignment with cosmic filaments using a large, well-selected galaxy sample.

Findings

Galaxy spins tend to align with filament axes

Sample of 2861 galaxies with high inclination angles used

Supports theories linking galaxy formation to large-scale structure

Abstract

The theory of galaxy formation posits a clear correlation between the spin of galaxies and the orientation of the elements of the large-scale structure of the Universe, particularly cosmic filaments. A substantial number of observational and modelling studies have been undertaken with the aim of identifying the dependence of spin orientation on the components of the large-scale structure. However, the findings of these studies remain contradictory. In this paper, we present an analysis of the orientation of the spins of 2 861 galaxies with respect to the filaments of the large-scale structure of the Universe. All galaxies in our sample have an inclination to the line of sight greater than 85 degrees, enabling an unambiguous determination of the spin axis direction in space. We investigate the alignment of galaxy spin axes relative to cosmic web filaments as a function of various properties for galaxies. Our results reveal a statistically significant tendency for the galaxy spin axes to align along the filament axes of the large-scale structure.