The accelerating universe as a research area investigates the observed late-time acceleration of cosmic expansion and its implications for fundamental physics and cosmology. It encompasses precise measurements of distance–redshift relations using Type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and weak gravitational lensing, as well as constraints from cosmic microwave background anisotropies and large-scale structure growth. The field focuses on characterizing dark energy (e.g., cosmological constant, dynamical scalar fields, or modified gravity), determining its equation-of-state parameter and possible evolution, testing general relativity on cosmological scales, and developing theoretical frameworks and numerical simulations to reconcile observational data with models of cosmic expansion history.
Dark energy—the term used to describe whatever is causing the universe to expand at an increasing rate—is one of the universe's greatest mysteries. The most widely accepted theory currently suggests that dark energy is constant, ...
Astronomy
Sep 15, 2025
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These are exciting times to explore the largest unanswered questions in physics thanks to high-tech experiments and very precise data. That's particularly true of dark energy, the name given to the mysterious driver of the ...
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2025
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For thousands of years, humanity viewed the skies as unchanging, except for a few "wandering stars" (that we now know are planets). As we improved our ability to perceive the cosmos with light-gathering telescopes and electronic ...
Astronomy
Aug 13, 2025
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It took about 50 exploding stars to upend cosmology. Researchers mapped and measured light from Type Ia supernovae, the dramatic explosion of a particular kind of white dwarf. In 1998, they announced their surprising results: ...
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2025
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For generations, humans have gazed at the stars and wondered about the ultimate fate of the universe. Will it expand forever into the cold emptiness, or meet a more dramatic end?
Astronomy
Jul 6, 2025
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The birth, growth and future of our universe are eternally fascinating.
Astronomy
Jun 30, 2025
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String theory has long been touted as physicists' best candidate for describing the fundamental nature of the universe, with elementary particles and forces described as vibrations of tiny threads of energy. But in the early ...
General Physics
Jun 9, 2025
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For a while now, there has been a problematic mystery at the heart of the standard cosmological model. Although all observations support the expanding universe model, observations of the early period of the cosmos give a ...
Astronomy
May 16, 2025
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Teleology is the idea that some processes in nature are directed toward a goal or an end. Today, it is commonly asserted that teleology is a remnant of antiquated ways of thinking about causation, and that it is not compatible ...
The great Russian physicist and Nobel laureate Lev Landau once remarked that "cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt." In studying the history of the universe itself, there is always a chance that we have got ...
Astronomy
Apr 3, 2025
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