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| '''Redshift quantization''', also referred to as '''redshift periodicity''',<ref>
| | {{Infobox theory |
| {{cite journal |last=Tifft |first=W. G. |date=2006 |title=Redshift periodicities, The Galaxy-Quasar Connection |journal=[[Astrophysics and Space Science]] |volume=285 |issue=2 |pages=429 |bibcode=2003Ap&SS.285..429T |doi=10.1023/A:1025457030279}}</ref> '''redshift discretization''',<ref name=Karlsson>{{cite journal |last=Karlsson |first=K. G. |date=1970 |title=Possible Discretization of Quasar Redshifts |journal=[[Astronomy and Astrophysics]] |volume=13 |issue= |pages=333 |bibcode=1971A&A....13..333K |doi=}}</ref> '''preferred redshifts'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arp |first1=H. |last2=Russel |first2=D. |date=2001 |title=A Possible Relationship between Quasars and Clusters of Galaxies |journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=549 |issue=2 |pages=802 |bibcode=2001ApJ...549..802A |doi=10.1086/319438|quote=The clusters and the galaxies in them tend to be strong X-ray and radio emitters, and their redshifts occur at preferred redshift values.}}</ref> and '''redshift-magnitude bands''',<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tifft |first=W. G. |date=1973 |title=Properties of the redshift-magnitude bands in the Coma cluster |journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=179 |issue= |pages=29 |bibcode=1973ApJ...179...29T |doi=10.1086/151844}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nanni |first1=D. |last2=Pittella |first2=G. |last3=Trevese |first3=D. |last4=Vignato |first4=A. |date=1981 |title=An analysis of the redshift-magnitude band phenomenon in the Coma Cluster |journal=[[Astronomy and Astrophysics]] |volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=188 |bibcode=1981A&A....95..188N |doi=}}</ref> is the [[hypothesis]] that the [[redshift]]s of cosmologically distant objects (in particular [[galaxies]] and [[quasars]]) tend to cluster around multiples of some particular value. | | | name = Redshift quantization |
| | | type = Observational claim in cosmology |
| | | author = [[William G Tifft]], K. G. Karlsson, Napier & Guthrie, [[Halton C Arp]] and others |
| | | keywords = redshift periodicity, quantization, Karlsson peaks, galactocentric, intrinsic redshift, [[Big Bang]] |
| | | year = 1976 onward |
| | }} |
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| In [[inflation (cosmology)|standard inflationary cosmological models]], the redshift of cosmological bodies is ascribed to the expansion of the universe, with greater redshift indicating greater [[cosmic distance ladder|cosmic distance]] from the Earth (see [[Hubble's Law]]). This is referred to as [[cosmological redshift]]. Ruling out errors in measurement or analysis, quantized redshift of cosmological objects would either indicate that they are physically arranged in a quantized pattern around the Earth, or that there is an unknown mechanism for redshift unrelated to cosmic expansion, referred to as "intrinsic redshift" or "non-cosmological redshift".
| | '''Redshift quantization''', also called '''redshift periodicity''', is the claim that the [[Redshift|redshifts]] of galaxies and quasars are not distributed smoothly but cluster around '''preferred, regularly spaced values'''. If the claim holds, it is difficult to reconcile with redshift as a simple measure of recession velocity, since a genuine distribution of velocities and distances should be continuous. It is therefore among the strongest observational arguments for an [[Intrinsic redshift|intrinsic]], non-velocity component in redshift, and against the [[Big Bang]] interpretation of the redshift–distance relation. |
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| In 1973, astronomer [[William G. Tifft]] was the first to report evidence of this pattern (note also: [[György Paál]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Paal |first=G. |date=1970 |title=The global structure of the universe and the distribution of quasi-stellar objects |journal=Acta Physica Academiae Scientarium Hungaricae |volume=30 |issue= 1|pages=51|bibcode=1971AcPhH..30...51P |doi=10.1007/bf03157173}}</ref>). Recent discourse has focused upon whether [[redshift survey]]s of [[quasars]] (QSOs) have produced evidence of quantization in excess of what is expected due to [[selection effect]] or [[galaxy cluster|galactic clustering]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Trimble |first1=V. |last2=Aschwanden |first2=M. J. |last3=Hansen |first3=C. J. |date=2007 |title=Astrophysics in 2006 |journal=[[Space Science Reviews]] |volume=132 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1007/s11214-007-9224-0 |arxiv=0705.1730|bibcode = 2007SSRv..132....1T }}</ref><ref name="adsabs.harvard.edu">{{cite journal |last1= Bell |first1=M. B. |last2=McDiarmid |first2=D. |date=2006 |title=Six Peaks Visible in the Redshift Distribution of 46,400 SDSS Quasars Agree with the Preferred Redshifts Predicted by the Decreasing Intrinsic Redshift Model|journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=648 |issue=1 |pages=140 |bibcode=2006ApJ...648..140B |doi=10.1086/503792|arxiv = astro-ph/0603169 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Godłowski |first1=W. |last2=Bajan |first2=K. |last3=Flin |first3=P.|date=2006 |title=Weak redshift discretisation in the Local Group of galaxies? |journal=[[Astronomische Nachrichten]] |volume=387 |issue=1 |pages=103 |bibcode=2006AN....327..103G |doi=10.1002/asna.200510477|arxiv = astro-ph/0511260 }}</ref><ref name=Tang>{{cite journal |last1=Tang |first1=S. M. |last2=Zhang |first2=S. N. |date=2005 |title=Critical Examinations of QSO Redshift Periodicities and Associations with Galaxies in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data |journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]]|volume=633 |issue=1 |pages=41 |bibcode=2005ApJ...633...41T |doi=10.1086/432754 |arxiv=astro-ph/0506366}}</ref>
| | ==The observational claim== |
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| Many scientists who espouse [[nonstandard cosmology|nonstandard cosmological models]], including those who reject the [[Big Bang]] theory, have referred to evidence of redshift quantization as reason to reject conventional accounts of the origin and evolution of the [[universe]].<ref>For examples, see references by nonstandard cosmology proponents
| | The effect was first reported by the astronomer [[William G Tifft]] of the University of Arizona in the 1970s, who found that galaxy redshifts appeared to fall into steps rather than a continuum. Subsequent work identified periodicities of roughly '''72 km/s''' and various submultiples. |
| *{{cite journal | last1 = Ratcliffe| first1 = Hilton| date=2009| title = A Review of Anomalous Redshift Data| journal = 2nd Crisis in Cosmology Conference, CCC-2 ASP Conference Series | volume = 413| pages = 109}}
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| *{{cite journal|bibcode=1973ApJ...186....1B|doi = 10.1086/152474 | title=A Quantitative Alternative to the Cosmological Hypothesis for Quasars | journal=The Astrophysical Journal|date=1973|volume=186|pages=1–21|first=Moley B.|last=Bell}}
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| *{{cite journal|bibcode=1979AZh....56..232K| title=periodicity of quasar redshifts ln /1 + z/ | journal=Astronomicheskii Zhurnal|date=1979|volume=56|pages=232–236|first=A. Ia.|last=Kipper}}
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| *{{cite journal|bibcode=1986ApJ...301..544L|doi = 10.1086/163922 | title=Is the universe really expanding? | journal=The Astrophysical Journal|date=1986|volume=301|pages=544|first=P. A.|last=Laviolette}}
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| *{{cite journal|bibcode=1980BAAS...12..852B| title=The Redshift Periodicity of QSO's and the Origin of Cosmic Radiation | journal=Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society|date=1980|volume=12|pages=852|first1=J. M.|last1=Barnothy|first2=M. F.|last2=Barnothy}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Arp |first1=H. |date=1998 |chapter=Quantization of Redshifts |url=http://redshift.vif.com/BookBlurbs/SeeingRedBlurb.htm |title=Seeing Red |isbn=0-9683689-0-5 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020112037/http://redshift.vif.com/BookBlurbs/SeeingRedBlurb.htm |archivedate=2006-10-20 |df= }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arp |first1=H. |date=1987 |title=Additional members of the Local Group of galaxies and quantized redshifts within the two nearest groups |journal=Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy |volume=8 |issue= 3|pages=241 |bibcode=1987JApA....8..241A
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| |doi=10.1007/BF02715046}}</ref>
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| Redshift quantization is a fringe topic with no support from mainstream astronomers in recent times. Although there are a handful of published articles in the last decade in support of quantization, those views are rejected by the rest of the field.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}
| | The most careful confirmations came from Bruce Guthrie and William Napier, who in 1990 reported a periodicity of similar magnitude in a sample restricted to bright spiral galaxies. Their final analysis concluded that extragalactic redshifts are quantized in the '''galactocentric''' frame of reference — that is, after correcting for the Sun's motion within our own galaxy — with periodicities of about '''37.5 km/s''' among field galaxies and loose groups, and about '''71.1 km/s''' in dense cluster environments. They argued the result could not be attributed to statistical artefacts, selection procedures, or flawed reduction techniques. |
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| ==Original investigation by William G. Tifft==
| | For quasars, K. G. Karlsson reported in 1971 a periodicity in log(1 + ''z''), producing preferred values near '''z ≈ 0.061, 0.30, 0.60, 0.96, 1.41 and 1.96''' — the '''Karlsson peaks'''. [[Halton C Arp]] regarded these as direct evidence that quasar redshifts contain a large intrinsic component, consistent with his ejection model. See [[Quasar]]. |
| [[William G. Tifft]] was the first to investigate possible redshift quantization, referring to it as "redshift-magnitude banding correlation".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tifft |first=W. G. |date=1980 |title=Periodicity in the redshift intervals for double galaxies |journal=[[Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=236 |issue= |pages=70 |bibcode=1980ApJ...236...70T |doi=10.1086/157719}}</ref> In 1973, he wrote:
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| :"Using more than 200 redshifts in Coma, Perseus, and A2199, the presence of a distinct band-related periodicity in redshifts is indicated. Finally, a new sample of accurate redshifts of bright [[Coma cluster of galaxies|Coma galaxies]] on a single band is presented, which shows a strong redshift periodicity of 220 km s<sup>−1</sup>. An upper limit of 20 km s<sup>−1</sup> is placed on the internal Doppler redshift component of motion in the Coma cluster".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tifft |first=W. G. |title=Fine Structure Within the Redshift-Magnitude Correlation for Galaxies |editor-last=Shakeshaft |editor-first=J. R |journal=Proceedings of the 58th IAU Symposium: The Formation and Dynamics of Galaxies |pages=255–256 |publisher=International Astronomical Union |bibcode=1974IAUS...58..243T |doi=}}</ref>
| | ==Why mainstream analyses miss it== |
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| Tifft, now Professor Emeritus at the [[University of Arizona]], suggested that this observation conflicted with standard cosmological scenarios. He states in summary:
| | Proponents argue that the standard statistical tools are the wrong instruments for the effect. The '''correlation function''', the most widely used method of testing for periodicity, does not detect the claimed quanta. Arp's explanation is that the redshift quanta represent '''temporal steps''' in redshift, and therefore cannot logically be folded together with the two spatial dimensions as the correlation function does. |
| :"Throughout the development of the program it has seemed increasingly clear that the redshift has properties inconsistent with a simple velocity and/or cosmic scale change interpretation. Various implications have been pointed out from time to time, but basically the work is observationally driven."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tifft |first=W .G. |date=1995 |title=Redshift Quantization - A Review |journal=[[Astrophysics and Space Science]] |volume=227 |issue=1–2 |pages=25 |bibcode=1995Ap&SS.227...25T |doi=10.1007/BF00678064}}</ref>
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| ==Early research==
| | The other point of contention is the reference frame. The periodicity appears only after transforming to the galactocentric frame; analyses performed in the heliocentric frame wash it out. Proponents regard this as physically meaningful and a sign the effect is real; critics regard the correction as an extra degree of freedom. |
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| Studies performed in the 1980s and early 1990s produced confirmatory results:
| | ==Criticisms from researchers on this wiki== |
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| #In 1989, Martin R. Croasdale reported finding a quantization of redshifts using a different sample of galaxies in increments of 72 km/s or Δ''z'' = {{val|2.4|e=-4}} (where Δ''z'' denotes shift in frequency expressed as a proportion of initial frequency).<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1989ApJ...345...72C|doi = 10.1086/167882 | title=Periodicities in galaxy redshifts | journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=1989 |volume=345 |pages=72 |first=Martin R. |last=Croasdale}}</ref>
| | Redshift quantization is examined at length by researchers catalogued here, both as an observational claim and as a phenomenon demanding a physical mechanism: |
| #In 1990, Bruce Guthrie and William Napier reported finding a "possible periodicity" of the same magnitude for a slightly larger data set limited to bright [[spiral galaxy|spiral galaxies]] and excluding other types.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1990MNRAS.243..431G|doi = | title=The Virgo cluster as a test for quantization of extragalactic redshifts | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1990 |volume=243 |pages=431–442 |first1=B. N. G.|last1=Guthrie|first2=W. M.|last2=Napier}}</ref>
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| #In 1992, Guthrie and Napier proposed the observation of a different periodicity in increments of Δ''z'' = {{val|1.24|e=-4}} in a sample of 89 galaxies.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1991MNRAS.253..533G|doi = 10.1093/mnras/253.3.533| title=Evidence for redshift periodicity in nearby field galaxies | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1991 |volume=253 |pages=533–544 |first1=B. N. G.|last1=Guthrie|first2=W. M.|last2=Napier}}</ref>
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| #In 1992, Paal ''et al.'' and Holba ''et al.'' concluded that there was an unexplained periodicity of redshifts in a reanalysis of a large sample of galaxies.<ref>{{cite journal|bibcode=1992Ap&SS.191..107P|doi = 10.1007/BF00644200 | title=Inflation and compactification from Galaxy redshifts? | journal=Astrophysics and Space Science|date=1992|volume=191|issue=1|pages=107–124|first=G.|last=Paal}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1992Ap&SS.198..111H|doi = 10.1007/BF00644305 | title=Cosmological parameters and redshift periodicity | journal=Astrophysics and Space Science |date=1992 |volume=198 |issue=1 |pages=111–120 |first=Ágnes |last=Holba}} See also reference to {{cite journal|bibcode=1990Natur.343..726B|doi = 10.1038/343726a0 | volume=343 | issue=6260|title=Large-scale distribution of galaxies at the Galactic poles|journal=Nature|date=1990|pages=726–728|first=T. J.|last=Broadhurst}}</ref>
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| #In 1997, Guthrie and Napier concluded the same:
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| ::"So far the redshifts of over 250 galaxies with high-precision HI profiles have been used in the study. In consistently selected sub-samples of the datasets of sufficient precision examined so far, the redshift distribution has been found to be strongly quantized in the galactocentric frame of reference. ... The formal confidence levels associated with these results are extremely high."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Napier|first=W. Μ.|author2=B. N. G. Guthrie |title=Quantized Redshifts: A Status Report|journal=J. Astrophys. Astr|date=1997|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/jaa/18/455-463.pdf}}</ref>
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| ==Quasar redshifts==
| | * [[William G Tifft]] — the originator of the claim, whose work on the quantized redshift and its implications for a non-expanding universe is documented on his page. |
| | * [[Martin Kokus]] — has examined quantization alongside other anomalies in ''[[Cosmological Coincidences]]''. |
| | * ''[[Testing the Hypothesis of Redshift Quantization in Iwanowska Galaxy Lines Connected with our Galaxy and M31]]'' — an independent observational test of the hypothesis. |
| | * ''[[The Physics of an Episodic Quantized Redshift]]'' — an attempt to supply a physical account of redshift changing in discrete steps rather than continuously. |
| | * ''[[Suggestion for Unifying Two Types os Quantized Redshift of Astronomical Bodies]]'' — proposes a common framework for the galaxy and quasar periodicities. |
| | * ''[[Redshift in Absolute Space: Periodicity of Quasars and Other Cosmological Implications]]'' — treats quasar periodicity within an absolute-space cosmology. |
| | * ''[[The Redshift and the Zero Point Energy]]'' — connects redshift behaviour to zero-point energy rather than expansion. |
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| Most recent discourse has focused upon whether [[redshift survey]]s of [[quasars]] (QSOs) produce evidence of quantization beyond that explainable by [[selection effect]]. This has been assisted by advances in cataloging in the late 1990s that have increased substantially the sample sizes involved in astronomical measurements.
| | The common thread is that a quantized redshift is not merely an anomaly to be explained away but a '''positive clue''' about the mechanism producing redshift — pointing toward intrinsic, episodic or field-based causes rather than recession. Further material is indexed under [[:Category:Cosmology]]. |
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| ===Karlsson's formula=== | | ==The dispute over the evidence== |
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| Historically, K. G. Karlsson and G. R. Burbidge were first to note that quasar redshifts were quantized in accordance with the empirical formula:<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burbidge | first1 = G | year = 1968 | title = The Distribution of Redshifts in Quasi-Stellar Objects, N-Systems and Some Radio and Compact Galaxies | url = | journal = [[Astrophysical Journal]] | volume = 154 | issue = | pages = L41–L48 | doi = 10.1086/180265 | bibcode=1968ApJ...154L..41B}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Karlsson | first1 = K. G. | year = 1990 | title=Quasar redshifts and nearby galaxies | url = | journal = Astron Astrophys | volume = 239| issue = | pages = 50 | doi = | bibcode=1990A&A...239...50K}}</ref>
| | The claim has been contested repeatedly, and the exchange is instructive. Hawkins and colleagues reported in 2002 that quasar redshifts show no periodicity; their methodology was challenged by Napier and Burbidge in 2003. Tang and Zhang reported the same negative result with larger datasets in 2005 and 2008; Fulton and Arp contradicted them in 2012, and Fulton and colleagues again in 2018, arguing that the Karlsson peaks are statistically demonstrable when the data are correctly selected and referred to the proper frame. |
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| :<math>log(1 + z) = 0.089n</math>
| | Mainstream astronomy maintains that the periodicities are artefacts of selection and small samples, notes that claimed values have ranged widely — from under 6 km/s to about 72 km/s — and observes that large modern surveys do not reproduce them. Proponents reply that the negative analyses repeatedly use inconsistent sample selection and the wrong reference frame, and that the disagreement is methodological rather than evidential. |
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| Where:
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| #<math>z</math> refers to the magnitude of redshift (shift in frequency as a proportion of initial frequency).
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| #<math>n</math> is an integer with values 1, 2, 3, 4 ...
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| This predicts periodic redshift peaks at <math>z</math> = 0.061, 0.30, 0.60, 0.96, 1.41, and 1.9, observed originally in a sample of 600 quasars,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burbidge| first1 = G. | year = 1978 | title=The line-locking hypothesis, absorption by intervening galaxies, and the Z = 1.95 peak in redshifts | url = | journal = Physica Scripta | volume = 17| issue = | pages = 237 | doi = 10.1088/0031-8949/17/3/017| bibcode= 1978PhyS...17..237B}}</ref> verified in later early studies.<ref>{{cite journal|bibcode=1994Ap&SS.222...65H|doi = 10.1007/BF00627083 | title=Once more on quasar periodicities | journal=Astrophysics and Space Science|date=1994|volume=222|issue=1–2|pages=65–83|first=Ágnes|last=Holba}}</ref>
| | * [[Redshift]] |
| | * [[Intrinsic redshift]] |
| | * [[Quasar]] |
| | * [[William G Tifft]] |
| | * [[Halton C Arp]] |
| | * [[Big Bang]] |
| | * [[:Category:Cosmology|Category: Cosmology]] |
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| ===Modern discourse===
| | [[Category:Cosmology|Redshift quantization]] |
| | [[Category:Theory & Models|Redshift quantization]] |
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| A 2001 study by Burbidge and Napier found the pattern of periodicity predicted by Karlsson's formula to be present at a high [[confidence level]] in three new samples of quasars, concluding that their findings are inexplicable by spectroscopic or similar selection effects.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burbidge| first1 = G. | year = 2001| title=The Distribution of Redshifts in New Samples of Quasi-stellar Objects | url = | journal = Astronomical Journal | volume = 121| issue = | pages = 21–30| arxiv=astro-ph/0008026 | bibcode= 2001AJ....121...21B| doi=10.1086/318018}}</ref>
| | [[Category:Redshift]] |
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| In 2002, Hawkins ''et al.'' found no evidence for redshift quantization in a sample of 1647 galaxy-quasar pairs from the [[2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey]]:
| | [[Category:Big Bang]] |
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| :"Given that there are almost eight times as many data points in this sample as in the previous analysis by Burbidge & Napier (2001), we must conclude that the previous detection of a periodic signal arose from the combination of noise and the effects of the window function."<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Hawkins|author2=Maddox|author3=Merrifield|title=No Periodicities in 2dF Redshift Survey Data|doi=10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05940.x|date=2002|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=336|pages=L13–L16|issue=13|arxiv=astro-ph/0208117|bibcode = 2002MNRAS.336L..13H }}</ref>
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| In response, Napier and Burbidge (2003) argue that the methods employed by Hawkins ''et al.'' to remove noise from their samples amount to "excessive data smoothing" which could hide a true periodicity. They publish an alternate methodology for this that preserves the periodicity observed in earlier studies.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Napier|first1=W. M.|last2=Burbidge|first2=G. R.|title=The detection of periodicity in QSO data sets|date=2003|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=342|pages=601–604|issue= |doi=10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06567.x |bibcode = 2003MNRAS.342..601N }}</ref>
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| In 2005, Tang and Zhang found no evidence for redshift quantization of quasars in samples from the [[Sloan Digital Sky Survey]] and 2dF redshift survey.<ref name="Tang"/>
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| Arp ''et al.'' (2005) examined sample areas in the 2dF and SDSS surveys in detail, noting that quasar redshifts:
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| :"... fit very closely the long standing Karlsson formula and strongly suggest the existence of preferred values in the distribution of quasar redshifts."<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Arp| first1=H.| last2=Fulton| first2=C.| last3=Roscoe| first3=D.| title=Periodicities of Quasar Redshifts in Large Area Surveys|date=2005|journal=|volume=|pages=|issue=|arxiv=astro-ph/0501090v1 |bibcode = 2005astro.ph..1090A }}</ref>
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| A 2006 study of 46,400 quasars in the [[Sloan Digital Sky Survey|SDSS]] by Bell and McDiarmid discovered 6 peaks in the redshift distribution consistent with the decreasing intrinsic redshift (DIR) model. They conclude that this correlation is unlikely to be a [[selection effect]], given the method used to determine intrinsic redshift relations.<ref name="adsabs.harvard.edu"/>
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| Schneider ''et al.'' (2007) and Richards ''et al.'' (2006) report that the periodicity reported by Bell and McDiarmid disappears after correcting for selection effects.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Schneider | display-authors =etal | date=2007| title = The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog. IV. Fifth Data Release| bibcode=2007AJ....134..102S | journal = The Astronomical Journal | volume = 134 | issue = 1| pages = 102–117 |doi = 10.1086/518474 |arxiv = 0704.0806 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Richards | first1 = G. T. | display-authors =etal | date=2006| title = The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Survey: Quasar Luminosity Function from Data Release 3| journal = The Astronomical Journal | volume = 131 | pages = 2766–2787 |doi = 10.1086/503559 |arxiv = astro-ph/0601434v2 | bibcode=2006AJ....131.2766R}}</ref> However, Bell and Comeau (2010) have since argued that this correction removes nearly half of the sample and does not explain how selection effects give rise to redshift peaks. The same study also concludes that a "filter gap footprint" renders it impossible to verify or falsify the presence of a true redshift peak at Δ''z'' = 0.60.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bell| first1 = M. B. | last2 = Comeau | first2 = S. P. | date=2010| title = Selection Effects in the SDSS Quasar Sample: The Filter Gap Footprint| journal = Astrophys Space Sci | volume = 326 | issue = 1| pages = 11–17 |doi = 10.1007/s10509-009-0232-2 |arxiv = 0911.5700v1 |bibcode = 2010Ap&SS.326...11B }}</ref>
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| A 2006 review by Bajan ''et al.'' discovered weak effects of redshift periodization in data from the [[Local Group]] of galaxies and the [[Hercules Supercluster]]. They conclude that "galaxy redshift periodization is an effect which can really exist", though the evidence is not well established pending study of larger databases.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006astro.ph..6294B|arxiv=astro-ph/0606294 | title=On the Investigations of Galaxy Redshift Periodicity | journal=Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters |date=2007 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=5–10 |first1=K. |last1=Bajan |first2=P. |last2=Flin |first3=W. |last3=Godlowski |first4=V. N. |last4=Pervushin |doi=10.1134/s1547477107010025}}</ref>
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| A 2007 [[absorption spectroscopy|absorption spectroscopic]] analysis of quasars by Ryabinkov ''et al.'' observed a pattern of statistically significant alternating peaks and dips in the redshift range Δ''z'' = 0.0 − 3.7, though they noted no statistical correlation between their findings and Karlsson's formula.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ryabinkov| first1 = A. I. | last2 = Kaminker| first2 = A. D. | last3 = Varshalovich| first3 = D. A. | date=2007| title = The redshift distribution of absorption-line systems in QSO spectra| journal = Mon Not R Astron Soc | volume = 376| pages = 1838–18481 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11567.x | bibcode=2007MNRAS.376.1838R|arxiv = astro-ph/0703277 }}</ref>
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| ==Explanatory theories==
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| ===Galactic clustering===
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| Some have proposed that quantization is caused by the geometry of [[Galaxy filament|filamentary]] [[superclusters]] and [[void (astronomy)|voids]] observed in [[Large-scale structure of the cosmos|large-scale structure models]] of the cosmos.
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| In 1987, E. Sepulveda suggested that galactic clustering could account for all redshift periodicities, using a geometric model based on [[polytrope|polytrope theory]]:
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| [[Image:2dfgrs.png|right|thumb|300px|Rendering of the [[2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey]] data. The [[galaxy filament]]s visible here can appear as weak redshift quantization by some statistical measures.]]
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| :"The smallest periodicities (Δ''z'' = 72 km/s and 144 km/s) are due to parallel line segments of galactic clustering. The largest (Δ''z'' = 0.15) are due to circumferential circuits around the universe. Intermediate periodicities are due to other geometric irregularities. These periodicities or apparent quantizations are relics or faithful fossils of a real quantization that occurred in the primordial atom."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Sepulveda | first1 = E. |date=1987| title = Geometric Paradigm Accounts for All Redshift Periodicities |bibcode=1987BAAS...19Q.689S | journal = Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society | volume = 19 | issue = | page = 689 }}</ref>
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| ===Hydrogen spectroscopy===
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| Various models propose that the quantization predicted by Karlsson's formula is related to the [[emission spectrum]] signature of hydrogen, described by the [[Lyman series]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Moret-Bailly| first1 = J. | year = 2015 | title=Absorption spectrum of very low pressure atomic hydrogen | url = https://arxiv.org/pdf/1512.08516.pdf | journal = Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics | volume = | issue = | pages = | doi = | bibcode=}}</ref>
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| According to this explanation, redshift periodicity arises from the interaction between cosmic atomic hydrogen and [[electromagnetic radiation]] in the spectrum of visible light. As atomic hydrogen absorbs and emits energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation, it oscillates between higher and lower [[excited state|states of excitation]]. This transfer of energy redshifts the radiation it emits. Because the states of excitation are quantized in accordance with the Lyman series, the redshift is also quantized.
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| A limitation of this model is that the phenomenon described above can only arise in conditions where atomic hydrogen is within stringent parameters of low pressure and excitation, away from massive or highly radiant cosmological bodies such as galaxies and [[supernovae]].
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|30em}}
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| [[Category:Physical cosmology]] | |
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| Name | Redshift quantization |
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| Type | Observational claim in cosmology |
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| Author(s) | William G Tifft, K. G. Karlsson, Napier & Guthrie, Halton C Arp and others |
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| Keywords | redshift periodicity, quantization, Karlsson peaks, galactocentric, intrinsic redshift, Big Bang |
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| Year | 1976 onward |
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Redshift quantization, also called redshift periodicity, is the claim that the redshifts of galaxies and quasars are not distributed smoothly but cluster around preferred, regularly spaced values. If the claim holds, it is difficult to reconcile with redshift as a simple measure of recession velocity, since a genuine distribution of velocities and distances should be continuous. It is therefore among the strongest observational arguments for an intrinsic, non-velocity component in redshift, and against the Big Bang interpretation of the redshift–distance relation.
The observational claim
The effect was first reported by the astronomer William G Tifft of the University of Arizona in the 1970s, who found that galaxy redshifts appeared to fall into steps rather than a continuum. Subsequent work identified periodicities of roughly 72 km/s and various submultiples.
The most careful confirmations came from Bruce Guthrie and William Napier, who in 1990 reported a periodicity of similar magnitude in a sample restricted to bright spiral galaxies. Their final analysis concluded that extragalactic redshifts are quantized in the galactocentric frame of reference — that is, after correcting for the Sun's motion within our own galaxy — with periodicities of about 37.5 km/s among field galaxies and loose groups, and about 71.1 km/s in dense cluster environments. They argued the result could not be attributed to statistical artefacts, selection procedures, or flawed reduction techniques.
For quasars, K. G. Karlsson reported in 1971 a periodicity in log(1 + z), producing preferred values near z ≈ 0.061, 0.30, 0.60, 0.96, 1.41 and 1.96 — the Karlsson peaks. Halton C Arp regarded these as direct evidence that quasar redshifts contain a large intrinsic component, consistent with his ejection model. See Quasar.
Why mainstream analyses miss it
Proponents argue that the standard statistical tools are the wrong instruments for the effect. The correlation function, the most widely used method of testing for periodicity, does not detect the claimed quanta. Arp's explanation is that the redshift quanta represent temporal steps in redshift, and therefore cannot logically be folded together with the two spatial dimensions as the correlation function does.
The other point of contention is the reference frame. The periodicity appears only after transforming to the galactocentric frame; analyses performed in the heliocentric frame wash it out. Proponents regard this as physically meaningful and a sign the effect is real; critics regard the correction as an extra degree of freedom.
Criticisms from researchers on this wiki
Redshift quantization is examined at length by researchers catalogued here, both as an observational claim and as a phenomenon demanding a physical mechanism:
The common thread is that a quantized redshift is not merely an anomaly to be explained away but a positive clue about the mechanism producing redshift — pointing toward intrinsic, episodic or field-based causes rather than recession. Further material is indexed under Category:Cosmology.
The dispute over the evidence
The claim has been contested repeatedly, and the exchange is instructive. Hawkins and colleagues reported in 2002 that quasar redshifts show no periodicity; their methodology was challenged by Napier and Burbidge in 2003. Tang and Zhang reported the same negative result with larger datasets in 2005 and 2008; Fulton and Arp contradicted them in 2012, and Fulton and colleagues again in 2018, arguing that the Karlsson peaks are statistically demonstrable when the data are correctly selected and referred to the proper frame.
Mainstream astronomy maintains that the periodicities are artefacts of selection and small samples, notes that claimed values have ranged widely — from under 6 km/s to about 72 km/s — and observes that large modern surveys do not reproduce them. Proponents reply that the negative analyses repeatedly use inconsistent sample selection and the wrong reference frame, and that the disagreement is methodological rather than evidential.
See also