Let’s rewind the clock, almost 14 billion years to the beginning of it all — the Big Bang. This cosmic event generated an exponential expansion in the infant universe and birthed all known matter, including stars, planets, black holes, dark matter, and dark energy, according to the inflationary universe theory.
The energy created bears striking similarities to what we now call “dark energy,” which most scientists believe makes up roughly 70% of the universe.
The catch? We’re not exactly sure what dark energy is or how it might relate to black holes.
DESI and the beginning of everything
“If you ask yourself the question, ‘Where in the later universe do we see gravity as strong as it was at the beginning of the universe?’ the answer is at the center of black holes,” said Gregory Tarlé, professor of physics at the University of Michigan and co-author of the study.
“It’s possible that what happened during inflation runs in reverse, the matter of a massive star becomes dark energy again during gravitational collapse — like a little Big Bang played in reverse.”
Tarlé and his team of researchers from five different institutions combined their expertise and the data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to strengthen their case.
The DESI, with its 5,000 robotic eyes mounted on the Mayall telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, is like having 5,000 Sherlock Holmes’ set to solve the mystery of dark energy.
Dark energy in black holes
“If black holes contain dark energy, they can couple to and grow with the expanding universe, causing its growth to accelerate” said Kevin Croker, lead author of the team’s new study and an assistant research scientist at Arizona State University.
“We can’t get the details of how this is happening, but we can see evidence that it is happening.”
Data from the first year of DESI’s five-year survey teases us with evidence that the density of dark energy is increasing over time.
This syncs with the theory of how the amount and mass of black holes increased over time, providing a compelling clue towards understanding what dark energy is.
Source of dark energy
“When I first got involved with the project, I was very skeptical,” said co-author Steve Ahlen, professor emeritus of physics at Boston University.
“But I maintained an open mind throughout the entire process and when we started doing the cosmology calculations, I said, ‘Well, this is a really nice mechanism for making dark energy.’”
So, they dived into the data. The team compared the data to the black holes created from the deaths of large stars across the universe’s history.
The result?
“The two phenomena were consistent with each other — as new black holes were made in the deaths of massive stars, the amount of dark energy in the universe increased in the right way,” said Duncan Farrah, associate professor of physics at the University of Hawai’i and co-author of the study.
“This makes it more plausible that black holes are the source of dark energy.”
Black holes relation to dark matter
A key distinction in the new paper is that most of the black holes under consideration are much younger than those previously studied.
These black holes were born when star formation was well underway, rather than just beginning.
JWST NIRCam imaging of star-forming protocluster PHz G191.24+62.04, 11 billion years ago as the universe was approaching the peak of star formation. These early galaxies are among the most active star-forming galaxies observed between 10.5 and 11.5 billion years ago. Each galaxy seen in this image is therefore producing many black holes, which are converting matter into dark energy according to the cosmologically coupled black hole hypothesis. This image shows the two “modules” of JWST NIRCam: The leftmost module contains the protocluster, and the rightmost module is an adjacent blank field. Each module sees thousands of galaxies. Credit: NASA/IOP“This occurs much later in the universe and is informed by recent measurements of black hole production and growth as observed with the Hubble and Webb space telescopes,” said co-author Rogier Windhorst, an interdisciplinary scientist for the JWST and professor of earth and space exploration at Arizona State University.
Unraveling the cosmic equation
Despite the intriguing data, the precise mechanism by which black holes contribute to the acceleration of the universe’s expansion remains elusive.
Scientists continue to refine their models and seek additional evidence to support the hypothesis that black holes are repositories for dark energy.
Future observations using advanced telescopes and instruments are expected to shed light on this profound cosmic equation.
By studying the intricate dance between gravity and dark energy, researchers aim to reveal more about the universe’s fate and the role black holes may play in it.
Such inquiry not only pushes the boundaries of astrophysics but also challenges the fundamental understanding of cosmology itself.
Future dark energy research
As we look forward to new developments in dark energy research, collaborative efforts among international research teams will be paramount.
Instruments like DESI and future missions such as the Euclid satellite and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, slated for launch in the coming years, hold promise for fresh insights into the nature of dark energy and its interaction with matter.
Meanwhile, theoretical advancements will continue to play a pivotal role, inviting novel interpretations and solutions to the dark energy puzzle.
As our tools and knowledge grow, so too does the excitement within the scientific community, as each discovery fuels the quest to unravel the ultimate mystery — what truly binds the cosmos together.
Are black holes the source of dark energy?
The burning question now is understanding where these black holes are and tracking their movement over the past 8 billion years. Researchers are already working at it.
Science is all about pushing boundaries, asking questions, and challenging assumptions. With the DESI online, we’re only scratching the surface of dark energy exploration.
“This will only bring more depth and clarity to our understanding of dark energy, whether that continues to support the black hole hypothesis or not,” Ahlen said. “I think as an experimental endeavor, it’s wonderful. You can have preconceived notions or not, but we’re driven by data and observations.”
Indeed, whatever the future observations bring, the ongoing work represents a significant shift in dark energy research.
“Fundamentally, whether black holes are dark energy, coupled to the universe they inhabit, has ceased to be just a theoretical question,” Tarlé said. “This is an experimental question now.”
The study is published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
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