The expansion of the universe could be a mirage, a potentially controversial new study suggests.

This rethinking of the cosmos also suggests solutions for the puzzles of dark energy and dark matter, which scientists believe account for around 95% of the total energy and matter in the universe but remain shrouded in mystery.

The novel new approach is detailed in a paper published June 2 in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, by University of Geneva professor of theoretical physics Lucas Lombriser.

  • HeartyBeast@kbin.social
    13·
    1 year ago

    I’m not a physicist, but this does look like an interesting idea. And yes, I suspect a little contraversial :)

    In Lombriser’s mathematical interpretation, the universe isn’t expanding but is flat and static, as Einstein once believed. The effects we observe that point to expansion are instead explained by the evolution of the masses of particles — such as protons and electrons — over time.

    • exohuman@kbin.social
      5·
      1 year ago

      I find it really interesting too. I struggled to understand it though. Is he saying that stuff that is further away is made of elements with a higher (or lower) atomic number?

    • style99@kbin.social
      2·
      1 year ago

      It’s also worth noting:

      In this picture, these particles arise from a field that permeates space-time. The cosmological constant is set by the field’s mass and because this field fluctuates, the masses of the particles it gives birth to also fluctuate. The cosmological constant still varies with time, but in this model that variation is due to changing particle mass over time, not the expansion of the universe.