- 4459
- EINSTEIN'S COSMIC
INFLATION? - is there more to it?
- Cosmic 'glitch' in gravity
challenge Albert Einstein's greatest theory?
There is no denying the awesome predictive power of Albert Einstein's
1915 theory of gravity, “general relativity”.
Yet, the theory still has inconsistencies when it comes to calculating
its effect on vast distances. And new research suggests these inconsistencies
could be the result of a "cosmic glitch" in gravity itself.
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--------------- 4459 - EINSTEIN'S COSMIC INFLATION? - is there more to it?
- In the 109 years since it was first
formulated, “general relativity” has remained our finest description of gravity
on a galactic scale; time and again, experiments have confirmed its accuracy.
-
- This theory has also been used to predict
aspects of the universe that would later be observationaly confirmed. This
includes the Big Bang, the existence of black holes, the “gravitational
lensing” of light and tiny ripples in spacetime called “gravitational waves”.
-
- Yet, like the Newtonian theory of gravity
that it surpassed, general relativity may not offer us the full picture of this
mysterious force.
-
- This model of gravity has been essential for
everything from theorizing the Big Bang to photographing black holes. But, when we try to understand gravity on a
cosmic scale, at the scale of galaxy clusters and beyond, we encounter apparent
inconsistencies with the predictions of general relativity.
-
- Gravity becomes around one percent weaker
when dealing with distances in the billions of light years. We are calling this inconsistency a 'cosmic
glitch.' It's almost as if gravity itself stops perfectly matching Einstein's
theory.
-
- The “cosmic glitch” would require an
alteration in a value called the gravitational constant. This alteration would
occur as calculations approach the "superhorizon," or the maximum
distance light could have traveled since the origin of the universe.
-
- This adjustment can be done by adding a
single extension to the standard cosmological model. This model is known as the
“lambda cold dark matter model”. Once complete, the amendment should clear up
inconsistencies in measurements at cosmological scales without affecting the
existing successful uses of general relativity.
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- The discovery of general relativity was so
revolutionary because, rather than describe gravity as a mysterious force, it
posited that gravity arises from the “curvature of the very fabric of space and
time”, united as a single entity called "spacetime." And this
curvature, Einstein realized, is shaped by objects with mass.
-
- Imagine placing balls of increasing mass on
a stretched rubber sheet. A tennis ball would cause a tiny, almost
imperceptible dent; a cricket ball would create a more pronounced dent; and a
bowling ball would spur a huge curve that likely draws anything else on the
sheet toward it.
-
- It's the same concept with objects in
space, though the curvature of spacetime exists in four dimensions, so there
are some quite key differences. Still, moons have less mass than planets,
planets less than stars, and stars less than galaxies, thus, the gravitational
influences of these celestial bodies increases respectively.
-
- Einstein's theory of gravity was like a
successor to Newtonian theory, though the latter still serves quite well on
terrestrial scales and is accurate enough to get rockets to the moon. Yet,
Einstein's theory could explain things that Newton's could not, such as the
quirky orbit of Mercury around the sun.
-
- Newton wasn't exactly wrong about gravity,
he just wasn't right on scales of planets, stars and galaxies. Astronomers think that the expansion of the
universe is regulated by both the force of gravity, and a mysterious “dark
energy”.
-
- As a theory, it has been too accurate in
predicting aspects of the universe we didn't know about. For instance, the
first image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope was
revealed to the public in April 2019. This image was kind of shocking because
of how closely the appearance of the supermassive black hole M87* resembled
predictions of general relativity.
-
- However, scientists are aware there are a
few issues with general relativity that may require its eventual revision. The theory doesn't unite with quantum
mechanics; the best description we have of physics on fundamental levels
smaller than the atom. That's mainly because there is currently no “quantum
theory” to describe gravity.
-
- Adjustments to general relativity at some
stage to "extend" its reach to the smallest scales of the universe
the vastest scales seem inevitable.
-
- Shortly after Einstein first introduced the
theory, he and others expanded upon it to develop an equation to describe the
state of the universe. As a result of “general relativity”, this equation
predicted that the universe should be changing. The issue with this was the
scientific consensus at the time said the universe was static. And, while
Einstein was no stranger to throwing the status quo into flux, he happened to
agree with this non-changing cosmic picture.
-
- To ensure general relativity predicted a
static universe, Einstein added a "fudge factor" that he later
described as his "greatest blunder," This is known as the
“cosmological constant”, and is represented by the Greek letter lambda. The
constant would be removed from thought when Edwin Hubble convinced Einstein
that the universe is non-static. It's expanding, he argued. And as far as we
know today, Hubble was indeed correct.
-
- Lambda, however, would actually make a
comeback. It'd start serving a different function at the end of the 20th
century, when astronomers discovered that not only is the universe expanding,
but it is doing so at an “accelerating rate”.
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- Almost a century ago, astronomers
discovered that our universe is expanding.
The farther away galaxies are, the faster they are moving, to the point
that they seem to be moving at nearly the speed of light, the maximum allowed
by Einstein's theory. Our finding suggests that, on those very scales,
Einstein’s theory may also be insufficient.
-
- Suggestions are to add "cosmic
glitch" that modifies gravity at vast distances and extends Einstein’s
mathematical formulas to tackle this while not "overthrowing" the
theory.
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- The researchers behind this cosmic glitch
theory suggest that future observations of the large-scale structure of the
universe and a universal "fossil" field of radiation called the
“cosmic microwave background” (CMB) from an event that occurred shortly after
the Big Bang could shed light on whether a cosmic glitch in gravity is
responsible for current "cosmic tensions."
-
- This could include the reason that quantum
theory gives a value for lambda that is a staggering factor of 10^¹²¹ (10 followed
by 120 zeroes) greater than astronomical observations seem to show (no wonder
some physicists call it "the worst theoretical prediction in the history
of physics!").
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-
May 7, 2024 EINSTEIN'S
COSMIC INFLATION? - is there more
to it? 4459
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