Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
Interesting

Universe Not Expanding At Accelerating Rate: Study

Darpan News Desk, 25 Oct, 2016 01:01 PM
    Challenging a standard cosmological concept, a team of researchers led by an Indian-origin scientist has found that the universe may not actually be expanding at an accelerating pace as was previously believed.
     
    Back in 2011, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three astronomers for their discovery, in the late 1990s, that the universe is expanding at an accelerating pace.
     
    Their conclusions were based on analysis of Type Ia supernovae - the spectacular thermonuclear explosion of dying stars - picked up by the Hubble space telescope and large ground-based telescopes. 
     
    It led to the widespread acceptance of the idea that the universe is dominated by a mysterious substance named 'dark energy' that drives this accelerating expansion.
     
    In a paper published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, the team of scientists led by Professor Subir Sarkar of Oxford University's Department of Physics has cast doubt on this standard cosmological concept. 
     
    "Naturally, a lot of work will be necessary to convince the physics community of this, but our work serves to demonstrate that a key pillar of the standard cosmological model is rather shaky," Sarkar said.
     
    Making use of a vastly increased data set - a catalogue of 740 Type Ia supernovae, more than ten times the original sample size - the researchers have found that the evidence for acceleration may be flimsier than previously thought, with the data being consistent with a constant rate of expansion.
     
     
    "The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe won the Nobel Prize, the Gruber Cosmology Prize, and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. It led to the widespread acceptance of the idea that the universe is dominated by "dark energy" that behaves like a cosmological constant - this is now the "standard model" of cosmology," Sarkar noted.
     
    "However, there now exists a much bigger database of supernovae on which to perform rigorous and detailed statistical analyses," he added.
     
    gWe analysed the latest catalogue of 740 Type Ia supernovae - over ten times bigger than the original samples on which the discovery claim was based - and found that the evidence for accelerated expansion is, at most, what physicists call "3 sigma". This is far short of the "5 sigma" standard required to claim a discovery of fundamental significance," Sarkar explained.
     
    The researchers hope that their study will motivate better analyses of cosmological data, as well as inspire theorists to investigate more nuanced cosmological models. 
     
    "Significant progress will be made when the European Extremely Large Telescope makes observations with an ultrasensitive 'laser comb' to directly measure over a ten to 15-year period whether the expansion rate is indeed accelerating," Sarkar said.

    MORE Interesting ARTICLES

    5 Facts About Leap Year And Why There Is A Feb. 29 This Year

    5 Facts About Leap Year And Why There Is A Feb. 29 This Year

    TORONTO — Ever wondered why we have leap year? Or exactly what it means for people born on ...

    5 Facts About Leap Year And Why There Is A Feb. 29 This Year

    Leap Year Has A Rich History - In Marriage Proposals

    Leap Year Has A Rich History - In Marriage Proposals
    Here's a look at that magical mark on the calendar as it relates to love and marriage, courtesy of Monmouth University historian Katherine Parkin, who has researched the topic.

    Leap Year Has A Rich History - In Marriage Proposals

    Twin Utah Moms Each Give Birth To Their 2nd Set Of Twins

    Twin Utah Moms Each Give Birth To Their 2nd Set Of Twins
    Kerri Bunker and Kelli Wall delivered twins within weeks of each other at a hospital in Orem, south of Salt Lake City. Years ago, they gave birth to their first sets of twins, now 4- and 5-year-olds, at the same hospital a few months apart.

    Twin Utah Moms Each Give Birth To Their 2nd Set Of Twins

    Former Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Chris Hadfield Share Words With Alberta Crowd

    Former Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Chris Hadfield Share Words With Alberta Crowd
      Aldrin and retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield were speakers Tuesday at a management development lecture in Lethbridge, Alta.

    Former Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Chris Hadfield Share Words With Alberta Crowd

    Beware, Facebook Or Social Media Addiction Can Trigger Cocaine-like High

    Beware, Facebook Or Social Media Addiction Can Trigger Cocaine-like High
    Can spending excessive time on Facebook or other social media be as dangerous as addiction to cocaine or gambling?

    Beware, Facebook Or Social Media Addiction Can Trigger Cocaine-like High

    23 Killed In Nepal Plane Crash

    23 Killed In Nepal Plane Crash
    All 23 people on board a Nepali airliner were on Wednesday killed when it crashed in the mountains of western Nepal early in the morning, officials here said.

    23 Killed In Nepal Plane Crash