Scientists want to know what waits ahead for our universe. Will there be another Big Bang, and will the entire universe vanish as it paves the way for a new one? According to a new report, the dark energy could potentially lead to a second Big Bang and more Big Bangs!
Dark Energy and Big Bangs
A new study attempts to define the nature of the mysterious phenomenon called dark energy that is thought to be behind the universe's speedy expansion. However, physicists found out that cosmic expansion isn't always the case.
Dark energy can periodically switch on and off. So it can sometimes lead to growing the cosmos or shrinking it down until the condition is suitable for a new Big Bang to occur, which will give birth to a new universe, Space reported.
Cosmologists struggled to understand the cause of the cosmos' accelerated expansion, so they named it dark energy. If it continues, the universe will expand and eventually tear apart.
Astronomers want to predict singularity - a point of infinite density where math breaks down and the universe experiences rapid expansion. They wonder if the acceleration expansion at present was related to the earliest moments of the Big Bang to avoid Big Bang singularity.
Big Bang was the birth of the universe when everything in the universe was condensed in immeasurably small singularity, a point of infinite denseness and heat, and then an explosion happened, giving birth to our universe. However, a report from Forbes argued that there is no singularity.
New Study About Dark Energy And Big Bang
A study published in the preprint database arXiv examined a model where dark energy played a role. Previous research modeled dark energy by switching it on at various times to spark a cosmic expansion. The new study proposes a more realistic model by considering matter and radiation.
The researchers want to see if they can avoid Big Bang singularity, drive inflation and accelerate the universe. According to them, our universe is an infinite series of repeated "Big Bounces."
Dark energy reportedly drives the universe until it reaches a certain size, and the dark energy will transform itself and force the universe to contract. The cosmos will suffer a big crunch right before reaching a state of infinite density; dark energy will turn it around again, driving a period of rapid inflation and starting a new cycle.
They found a dark energy model that performed the trifecta but realized that matter and radiation couldn't exist extremely early on as they would spoil inflation. Instead, matter and radiation had to appear after inflation, when a portion of dark energy decayed, flooding the universe with light and matter.
While the researchers were successful, they couldn't find generic dark energy models that led to the same results. Instead, they had to add a smaller value for the present-day accelerated expansion than quantum mechanics predicted to achieve the outcome they expected.
The study revealed that our future remains uncertain as dark energy is unpredictable and may behave differently in the future.
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