Einstein’s gravity endures despite an enigma of dark energy

Scientists can be wrong about dark energy. But they are eligible for gravity, suggests a new study.

Dark energy, the mysterious phenomenon that makes the expansion of the cosmos accelerate, is widely thought to have had a constant density throughout the history of the universe. But dark energy can be instead, researcher from the spectroscopic instrument of Dark energy, or Desi, the cooperation report on November 19 in a set of letters posted on the project website and Arxiv.org.

Finding reaffirms an April report from the same team that had reached a similar conclusion (Sn: 4/4/24). At the same time, new analysis – a more complete look at the same data used in the previous report – confirms that Desi’s data agree with general relativity, Albert Einstein’s theory of Alternative theory, ” modified gravity. ”

Desi makes a 3-D map of galaxies throughout the cosmos. The previous project analysis focused only on some kind of information collected from that map: Boryon acoustic oscillations, sound waves in the early universe that left prints in the cosmos that are visible today (Sn: 3/4/19).

New analysis adds information on how galaxies and other structures evolve on cosmic history. “This is the first time we are sensitive how the structure grows over time,” says cosmologist Dragan Huter of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “This is significant because the growth of the structure is known to be very sensitive to dark energy and modified gravity.”

In both analyzes, the researchers found signs of a change in the equation of dark energy state, the relationship between pressure and its density over time. “We’re showing at the same conclusion, and this is … completely secure,” says cosmologist Pauline Zarruk from CNRS and Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes énergies in Paris. Because both analyzes are based on the same data, “If we were not to see the same [conclusion]That would really be an issue. “(In both cases, the team combined desi data with other cosmological data, including data on the background of the cosmic microwave, the oldest light in the universe.)

With the first result, Desi researchers were removing the neck, says physicist Daniel Scolnic of the university. “They are not leaving this. Many times when there is a great result in cosmology, it feels like a month later … it is gone.” But with desius, “their neck is still out. I really respect it and appreciate it. “

If dark energy is confirmed to change, it would send a blow through cosmology, overthrowing the accepted theory of scientists, the standard cosmological model. This theory has been extremely successful in the description of the cosmos, but includes poorly understood components, such as dark energy and also unidentified mass called dark matter (Sn: 8/26/24).

In an effort to a more satisfactory explanation of the cosmos, some scientists are tearing down the general relativity, which describes gravity as a result of the mass of mass decay. Modified theories of gravity can potentially renounce the need for dark or dark energy (Sn: 7/5/24). But the formation of the structure that the designer observed was in accordance with that provided by the general relativity. And there is no evidence of modified gravity, though theories are not completely excluded.

In the new study, an enigma continues for neutrinos masses, light subatomic particles that are abundant in the cosmos. Like the first analysis of desi, new findings show that the sum of the measures of the three types of neutrino is less than expected, at least some accounts (Sn: 9/20/24). This can imply that cosmologists have misunderstood something about the nature of the cosmos or for the neutrinoes themselves.

In 2025, Desi collaboration plans to issue results based on the first three years of project data. This will be a real test of how powerful the results are, including if dark energy really changes over time.

Scolnic predicts the standard cosmological model as a fire. While scientists had been enjoying sitting around the warm shine, with the results of desi, the sparks began to fly. “This is when you tell everyone,” Let’s take a step back from the fire, just to be safe. … We are not throwing water for everyone, but definitely just one step back. ‘”