We all know that the Universe is expanding. However, a team of scientists revealed that it may soon start shrinking. Read to know more about this exciting research.
The Universe is contacting. Here’s how
According to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, after nearly 13.8 billion years of nonstop expansion, the universe may soon come to a standstill, then slowly begin to contract.
A team of astrophysicists (two from Princeton and one from New York University) is now concluding that the Universe will soon begin contracting. They are basing this on a model of the Universe where dark energy is an entity and not a constant force. And this entity, called the quintessence can decay with time.
What does this mean? When will it happen?
According to scientists, the acceleration of the Universe will stop in about 65 million years. And in the next 100 million years, it will begin contacting. And after billions of years, the Universe will likely meet its death. While it may seem like a very long time to us, it is a short time in the history of space.
And this could all happen “remarkably” quickly, said co-author of the study Paul Steinhardt. Steinhardt is Director of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University in New Jersey.
“To their surprise, dark energy in their model can decay with time. Its strength can weaken. And if it does so in a certain way, then eventually the antigravitational property of dark energy goes away and it transitions back into something that’s more like ordinary matter,” stated Gary Hinshaw. Hinshaw is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia.
“I think it really just boils down to how compelling do you find this theory to be and, more importantly, how testable do you find it to be?” Hinshaw added.
