Black holes may be driving the expansion of the universe, new study suggests

Astronomers may have found tantalizing evidence that dark energy – the mysterious energy driving the accelerating expansion of our Universe – may be linked to black holes.

Dark energy makes up approximately 70% of our Universe and is believed to have arisen after Big bang13.8 billion years ago to stimulate the growth of space.

But where exactly the mysterious power came from remains unclear. In recent years, some astronomers have proposed a radical theory according to which dark energy may not spread diffusely throughout space, but from the depths of giant planets. black holes. Others, however, found the proposal outlandish.

Now a new study claims to have found the first hints of a connection between two seemingly unrelated phenomena: a correspondence between increasing dark energy density and the growing mass of black holes as the universe ages. The researchers published their findings Oct. 28 in the journal Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

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“If you ask yourself the question, ‘Where in the later Universe will we see gravity as strong as it was at the beginning of the Universe?’ the answer lies in the center of black holes,” study co-author. Gregory Tarleprofessor of physics at the University of Michigan, says the statement. “Perhaps what happened during inflation happens in reverse: the matter of a massive star becomes dark energy again during gravitational collapse—like a small Big Bang played out in reverse.”

To find clues that dark energy may be associated with black holes, the researchers used Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), installed on the 4-meter Nicholas W. Mayall Telescope in Arizona, which determines the monthly positions of millions of galaxies to study how the Universe has expanded to the present day. This allows astronomers to infer the density of dark energy over the lifetime of the universe based on the rate at which the cosmos is expanding.

By comparing these indirect data on dark energy and black hole growth at different stages of the universe’s life, the researchers made an intriguing observation.

“These two phenomena were consistent with each other—as new black holes were formed by the death of massive stars, the amount of dark energy in the Universe increased in the right way,” co-author. Duncan Farrahthe assistant professor of physics at the University of Hawaii said in a statement. “This makes it more likely that black holes are the source of dark energy.”

If the hypothesis is confirmed, it could help solve a growing mystery in cosmology. For years, astronomers have discovered that the universe is expanding at different rates depending on where they look. They call this problem “Hubble tension.” Some measurements confirm our best current understanding of the universe. while others threaten to break it.

However, despite the interesting connection, astronomers say many more observations from DESI and other experiments are needed before any firm conclusions can be reached.

“Essentially, the question of whether black holes are dark energy associated with the universe they inhabit is no longer just a theoretical question,” Tarle said. “This is an experimental issue right now.”