The cosmological constant as a research area encompasses theoretical and observational studies of the small, positive vacuum energy density driving the late-time accelerated expansion of the universe within the ΛCDM framework. Research addresses its role as a parameter in Einstein’s field equations, constraints from supernovae, cosmic microwave background anisotropies, and large-scale structure, and its consistency with quantum field theoretic expectations for vacuum energy. The field also investigates parameter estimation, degeneracies with alternative dark energy models and modified gravity, and implications for cosmic history, structure formation, and future surveys aimed at refining measurements of Λ.
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it would extend its Mars probe mission, now in its fifth year, for an additional three, underlining the oil-rich state's space ambitions.
Space Exploration
Feb 17, 2026
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As the Dark Energy Survey (DES) releases its final results, we caught up with two physicists who've been involved in the project from its early days. In this Q&A, Josh Frieman, DES co-founder and associate laboratory director ...
Astronomy
Jan 26, 2026
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120
Dark energy is still one of the greatest cosmic mysteries. For all the time, money and telescopes that humanity has used to uncover its nature, scientists are still asking a fundamental question: What is dark energy?
Astronomy
Jan 26, 2026
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A cosmological simulation study by researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has systematically revealed, for the first time, how the interaction between dark matter and dark ...
Astronomy
Nov 28, 2025
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The universe's expansion may actually have started to slow rather than accelerating at an ever-increasing rate as previously thought, a new study suggests.
Astronomy
Nov 5, 2025
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Why is the universe expanding at an ever-increasing rate? This is one of the most exciting yet unresolved questions in modern physics. Because it cannot be fully answered using our current physical worldview, researchers ...
Astronomy
Oct 15, 2025
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Since the early 20th century, scientists have gathered compelling evidence that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. This acceleration is attributed to what is known as dark energy—a fundamental property of ...
Astronomy
Oct 2, 2025
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For decades, astronomers have believed that dark matter and dark energy make up most of the universe. However, a new study suggests they might not exist at all. Instead, what we perceive as dark matter and dark energy could ...
Astronomy
Oct 1, 2025
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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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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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