A team of researchers, led by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), has released new data that challenges our understanding of dark energy, a phenomenon driving the universe’s expansion at an accelerating rate. The findings suggest that dark energy may not be a constant as previously thought, but rather has changed over the universe’s lifetime.
In 1998, observations revealed that the universe is expanding and its rate of expansion was increasing. This led to the concept of dark energy, with cosmologists trying to measure its effects more accurately. The DESI project’s first three years of data show a possible shift in dark energy’s properties over time.
While the data is not yet statistically significant, leading researchers Dr. Andrei Cuceu and Dr. Adam Riess propose that the universe’s expansion rate may have changed. This discovery leaves many questions about the nature of dark energy unanswered. The DESI team invites further exploration into this enigmatic field to uncover the secrets behind dark energy.
Source: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/dark-energy-not-constant-desi-data