For over twenty years, the term 'cosmic web' has guided our understanding of the large-scale arrangement of matter in the cosmos, accurately evoking the concept of a network of galaxies linked by filaments. But the physical correspondence between the cosmic web and structural-engineering or textile 'spiderwebs' is even deeper than previously known  . Here we explain that in a good structure-formation approximation known as the adhesion model, threads of the cosmic web form a spiderweb, i.e. can be strung up to be entirely in tension  . We also suggest how concepts arising from this link might be used to test cosmological models: for example, to test for large-scale anisotropy and rotational flows in the cosmos.
For over twenty years, the term 'cosmic web' has guided our understanding of the large-scale arrangement of matter in the cosmos, accurately evoking the concept of a network of galaxies linked by filaments. But the physical correspondence between the cosmic web and structural-engineering or textile 'spiderwebs' is even deeper than previously known , and extends to origami tessellations as well . Here we explain that in a good structure-formation approximation known as the adhesion model, threads of the cosmic web form a spiderweb, i.e. can be strung up to be entirely in tension . The correspondence is exact if nodes sampling voids are included, and if structure is excluded within collapsed regions (walls, filaments and haloes), where dark-matter multistreaming and baryonic physics affect the structure . We also suggest how concepts arising from this link might be used to test cosmological models: for example, to test for large-scale anisotropy and rotational flows in the cosmos.
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, and extends to origami tessellations as well
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. The correspondence is exact if nodes sampling voids are included, and if structure is excluded within collapsed regions (walls, filaments and haloes), where dark-matter multistreaming and baryonic physics affect the structure