May 14, 2024

Could a Dark Energy Phase Change Relieve the Hubble Tension?

The research study was carried out by Martin S. Sloth, a professor of theoretical cosmology at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and the leader of the Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology– Universe Origins (CP3-Origins) research group; and Florian Niedermann, an assistant teacher of cosmology at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA) in Stockholm and a previous postdoc in Sloths research group. Their research is explained in a paper published on December 10th, 2022, in Physics Letters B.

According to the most widely-accepted cosmological theories, the Universe started roughly 13.8 billion years back in an enormous explosion understood as the Big Bang. Ever given that then, the Universe has actually been in a continuous state of growth, what astrophysicists understand as the Hubble Constant.
Unfortunately, these two techniques have produced various worths over the previous decade, generating what is referred to as the Hubble Tension. To solve this discrepancy, astronomers think that some extra force (like “Early Dark Energy”) may have been present throughout the early Universe that we have not accounted for yet. According to a team of particle physicists, the Hubble Tension might be fixed by a “New Early Dark Energy” (NEDE) in the early Universe. This energy, they argue, would have experienced a phase shift as deep space began to expand, then disappeared.

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” This suggests that the dark energy in the early universe underwent a phase transition, just as water can alter stage in between frozen, liquid and steam. While doing so, the energy bubbles ultimately clashed with other bubbles and along the way released energy.”

To solve this discrepancy, astronomers believe that some additional force (like “Early Dark Energy”) might have been present during the early Universe that we havent accounted for. According to a team of particle physicists, the Hubble Tension could be dealt with by a “New Early Dark Energy” (NEDE) in the early Universe. In their paper, Sloth and Niedermann propose that Dark Energy went through a stage shift throughout the early Universe, soon prior to it went from being in a hot dense state to what we see today. It appears that a phase shift in the dark energy is the missing component in the current Standard Model to describe the varying measurements of the Universes growth rate.”

And then theres the continuous search for Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which account for 85% of the mass and 68% of the total energy in the observable Universe.

The Hubble Tension comes down to 2 approaches yielding different outcomes, although both are thought about dependable. Both techniques are based upon the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) and Big Bang Model of cosmology (aka. the Standard Model). This model states that the early Universe was controlled by radiation and matter– both baryonic (or “regular”) and Dark Matter. Roughly 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the radiation and normal matter were compressed into a hot dense plasma that is unnoticeable to modern telescopes (the “Cosmic Dark Ages”).
If both approaches are trusted, Sloth and Niedermann argue, then perhaps its the basis (not the methods) that are the issue. In their paper, Sloth and Niedermann propose that Dark Energy went through a phase transition during the early Universe, soon before it went from remaining in a hot thick state to what we see today. As the Universe expanded, the NEDE started to bubble in various locations, which grew and ultimately hit each other. Said Niedermann in an SDU press release.

When this NEDE is used, Sloth and Niedermann acquire the exact same worths for the Hubble Constant, regardless of the methods utilized. While this theory suggests that the Universe acts in a method that is not consistent with the Standard Model, it does use a possible resolution to the Hubble Tension. It appears that a phase transition in the dark energy is the missing aspect in the present Standard Model to discuss the varying measurements of the Universes growth rate.”

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the Chilean Andes, house of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Credit: Andreas Papadopoulos
This study is one of numerous that attempts to fix the Hubble Tension by thinking that Dark Energy has actually acted in a different way with time. These studies are paralleled by efforts to observe the cosmic duration that happened soon after the Big Bang (noticeable as the CMB) and when the very first stars and galaxies eliminated the Dark Ages (ca. 1 billion years later on). And then theres the ongoing search for Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which account for 85% of the mass and 68% of the total energy in the observable Universe.
All of these efforts aim to deal with the last problems of the Standard Model and bring our best cosmological theories and observations into consistency. These efforts are taking place at both the theoretical and observational end of things, making the most of next-generation telescopes– like the James Webb Space Telescope, the ESA Euclid Observatory, and the 30-meter ground-based telescopes that will be operational in the coming years– artificial intelligence, and advanced supercomputers that can imitate cosmic evolution over time.
Learning how the physical laws that govern the Universe meshed is definitely essential to opening the last of its tricks. And while we might not have it all determined yet, were getting closer!
More Reading: SDU, Physics Letters B.
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