Asymmetry in Galaxy Spin Directions: A Fully Reproducible Experiment Using HSC Data

Abstract

The asymmetry in the large-scale distribution of the directions in which spiral galaxies rotate has been observed by multiple telescopes, all showing a consistent asymmetry in the distribution of galaxy spin directions as observed from Earth. Here, galaxies with a redshift from HSC DR3 are annotated by their direction of rotation, and their distribution is analyzed. The results show that galaxies that rotate in the opposite direction relative to the Milky Way as observed from Earth are significantly more prevalent compared to galaxies that rotate in the same direction relative to the Milky Way. The asymmetry also forms a dipole axis that becomes stronger when the redshift gets higher. These results are aligned with observations from virtually all premier digital sky surveys, as well as space telescopes such as the HST and the JWST. This shows that the distribution of galaxy spin directions as observed from Earth is not symmetrical, and has a possible link to the rotational velocity of the Milky Way. This experiment provides data, code, and a full protocol that allows the results to be easily reproduced in a transparent manner. This practice is used to overcome the “reproducibility crisis” in science.