Evidence for redshift periodicity in nearby field galaxies

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 1991-12, Vol.253 (3), p.533-544
• Main Authors: Guthrie, B. N. G., Napier, W. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Characteristics and properties of external galaxies and extragalactic objects; Distances, redshifts, radial velocities. Spatial distribution of galaxies; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Stellar systems. Galactic and extragalactic objects and systems. The universe
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/253.3.533

The claim by Tifft and colleagues that extragalactic redshifts are periodic in ranges around 24.2, 36.3 or 72.5 km s–1 was investigated for an independent sample of 89 nearby spirals, in the general field, with accurately determined heliocentric redshifts. Corrections were applied for a range of solar vectors encompassing various derivations of the solar motion relative to the Galactic Centre and the centroid of the Local Group, and power spectrum analyses were carried out on the sets of corrected redshifts. A strong periodicity of $\sim37.2 \,\text{km} \,\text{s}^{- 1}$ emerged, against a white noise background, for an assumed solar vector coincidental, within the uncertainties, with that corresponding to the Sun's probable motion around the Galactic Centre. Comparison with sets of synthetic data simulating the overall characteristics of the real data showed the periodicity to be present at a high confidence level. As an independent test, the sample was divided into two groups of 40 and 49 galaxies with more and less accurately determined redshifts respectively. The measured strength of the periodicity appears to be significantly greater for the group of 40 galaxies. The overall probability that the periodicity of 37.2 km s–1 arises by chance is in the range $3 \times {10}^{-6} \lesssim p \lesssim 3 \times {10}^{-4}$.