ClaudioVentrella/iStock

Despite how extreme the idea sounds, theories about the Universe being an illusion or a hologram aren't new. Now, researchers claim to have found evidence towards proving this hypothesis.

A team of theoretical physicists at the University of Southampton believes it has found signs our Universe is an illusion by studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB) – radiation left over from the Big Bang.


Cosmic rays offer clue our universe could be a computer simulation Universe Cosmic rays offer clue our universe could be a computer simulation

A holographic Universe means information that makes up what we perceive as a 3D reality is stored on a 2D surface, including time. This means, essentially, everything you see and experience is an illusion.

Read next The beautiful way stars form out of clumps of gas is visualised for the first time The beautiful way stars form out of clumps of gas is visualised for the first time

"Imagine that everything you see, feel and hear in three dimensions, and your perception of time, in fact emanates from a flat two-dimensional field,” says Professor Kostas Skenderis from the University of Southampton.

“The idea is similar to that of ordinary holograms where a 3D image is encoded in a 2D surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card. However, this time, the entire Universe is encoded." Another way of simplifying this is through 3D films. Although not an example of a hologram, 3D films create the illusion of 3D objects from a flat 2D screen. The difference in our 3D Universe is that we can touch objects and the 'projection' is 'real', from our perspective.


While theories of holographic universes have been around since the 1990s, the latest study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, contains the first proof, the researchers say.

In this sketch of the timeline of the holographic Universe, time runs from left to right. The far left shows the holographic phase and is blurry because space and time are not yet well defined. Patterns imprinted in it carry information about the very early Universe and seed the development of structures of stars and galaxies in the late time Universe (far right) Paul McFadden

To find the 'evidence', the researchers developed models of the holographic Universe that can be tested by peering back in time as far as 13 billion years, at the furthest reaches of the observable Universe. These models depend on the theory of quantum gravity, a theory that challenges the accepted version of classical gravity. The holographic principle says gravity comes from thin, vibrating strings which are all holograms of a flat, 2D Universe.

Read next 'Cosmic void' theory suggests our Universe is like Swiss cheese and we live in one of its holes 'Cosmic void' theory suggests our Universe is like Swiss cheese and we live in one of its holes

Recent advances in telescopes and sensing equipment have allowed scientists to detect a vast amount of data hidden in the 'white noise' or microwaves left over from the moment the Universe was created. Using this information, the team was able to make comparisons between networks of features in the data and quantum field theory. They found some of the simplest quantum field theories could explain nearly all cosmological observations of the early Universe.

This, they claim, moves quantum gravity away from being an alternative theory and towards an accepted model; the first time such 'evidence' has been found.

"We are proposing using this holographic Universe, which is a very different model of the Big Bang than the popularly accepted one that relies on gravity and inflation," said Niayesh Afshordi, from the University of Waterloo and Perimeter Institute, and lead author of the study.

"Each of these models makes distinct predictions that we can test as we refine our data and improve our theoretical understanding, all within the next five years,” Afshordi said. “Holography is a huge leap forward in the way we think about the structure and creation of the Universe,” added Skenderis.


“Einstein's theory of general relativity explains almost everything large scale in the Universe very well, but starts to unravel when examining its origins and mechanisms at quantum level.

“Scientists have been working for decades to combine Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum theory. Some believe the concept of a holographic Universe has the potential to reconcile the two. I hope our research takes us another step towards this."

The researchers will continue to study the early Universe to provide further evidence for holography. "Holography is like a Rosetta Stone, translating between known theories of quantum fields without gravity and the uncharted territory of quantum gravity itself,” concluded Afshordi.