In a study funded by the US Department of Energy and involving at least 400 scientists from 25 international institutions, it was revealed that the density of dark energy may change over time.
In the project called the Dark Energy Survey (DES), scientists shared the results of recent studies on dark energy and the expansion of the universe.
1,500 SUPERNOVAE EXAMINED OVER 6 YEARS IN COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH
According to the research, the details of which were reported by Independent Türkçe, the findings announced at the American Astronomical Society conference on January 8 were obtained from data collected on 1,500 supernovae over 6 years at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile. In the study, observations were made over 758 nights using the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera produced by Fermilab, a particle physics laboratory in the US.
Tamara Davis from the University of Queensland in Australia recalled that in the last comprehensive study conducted 25 years ago, 52 supernovae were examined to gain information about dark energy, stating that the current research goes far beyond that.
Davis stated that the findings on dark energy in the new research show that the standard cosmology model called ΛCDM (lambda-CDM) may be insufficient to explain the formation of the universe.
In this mathematical model, dark energy, which is assumed to constantly expand the universe and push galaxies away from each other, is treated as a constant value. However, the latest research shows that this energy changes over time.
Davis said, "There are hints that dark energy changes over time. We have seen that the most basic dark energy model, ΛCDM, may not be the best-fit model." The researcher said that ΛCDM has not been completely abandoned, but that the new findings "create a need for a more advanced model."
DES Director Rich Kron also stated, "As the universe expands, the density of matter decreases. But if the density of dark energy is constant, this means that as the volume increases, the total amount of dark energy must also increase."
News Source: 12punto
