This study on dark energy doubts one of the few cosmological certainties on the expansion of the universe

For some months, physicists suspect that dark energy is weakening. At the last meeting of the American Society of Physics, held in California, there has been a new report that supports that hypothesis. The idea is, at least, disturbing. The strength of dark energy in the universe was one of the few “cosmological certainties” that science has. Thanks to that enigmatic energy, the universe expands faster and faster, at an approximate rate of 70 kilometers per second by Megaparsec (a Pársec equals 3.26 million light years).

The most recent database of the DESI project (spectroscopic instrument of dark energy) allowed physicists to find a new cosmological puzzle. This consists of three years of observations made from the National Kitt Peak Observatory, in Arizona. The advanced optical fiber technology of the instrument allows to measure how objects in the sky move away from us through the phenomenon of red shift.

Until now, the DESI project He has cataloged approximately 18.7 million objects, among stars, galaxies and quasars. With the data a three -dimensional map of the visible universe was created that allows to measure its expansion rate more accurately. The new results are, in the words of the scratches of the project, extremely intriguing. The expansion of the cosmos continues to accelerate, but at less speed than before and there is no explanation for it.

It is not the first time that there is a change in the expansion rate of the universe. According to the current cosmological model, until approximately 5,000 million years ago, The dark energy “stepped on the accelerator” in the expansion. Before that, the universe went through a latency period, and in the beginning, the cosmic inflation event occurred, which lasted less than a second. This recent and apparent loss of energy presents a new stage in the behavior of the universe.

“It is exciting to think that we could be about to make an important discovery about the dark energy and the fundamental nature of our universe,” said Alexie Leauthaud-Harnett, Coportovoz of the DESI project.

The need to update the cosmological model

Although shocking, the new data does not contradict the current cosmological model. Physicists agree that the results They must be interpreted under the principle of parsimony: The simplest explanation is usually correct. DESI’s measurements are highly precise (before, the possibility of a calibration error in the instruments) was pointed out. In addition, due to the unknown nature of dark energy, it is likely that other unidentified elements are influencing their behavior. The universe is more complex than currently estimated, and that is something that scientists accept.

Until now, the cosmological model has worked. Physicists behind Desi believe that it may be time to modify it to adapt to new discoveries. “It seems more likely that we need to modify our standard cosmology model so that these different data sets make meaning, and the evolutionary dark energy seems promising,” said Will Percival, another co -man of Desi.

The universe is more “complex and messy” of what one would expect, shows a new study

A look at two databases, one of the childhood of the universe and another of its current position, revealed that the cosmos has a different structure from the one that is deduced from the current models.

As for the true nature of dark energy, there are several theories under evaluation. Some suggest that, like other fundamental forces, the expansion of the universe could be mediated by particles similar to gluons, photons and bosons. Other hypotheses point to quantum fluctuations in a vacuum, whose negative pressure would boost the separation between galaxies.

For now, the DESI project is one of the most important science tools to address the mystery of dark energy. It has been in operation for three years, but its goal is to complete a map in five years with a total of 50 million galaxies.