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A bold new hypothesis published in a scientific journal New Scientist, could completely change our understanding of the history of the universe. Physicists from around the world have proposed the idea that the history of the universe may have included periods of stagnation, when energy was not redistributed. This radical idea could shed light on dark matter, dark energy, and even the expansion of the cosmos, writes T4.
According to the traditional model, Big Bang marked the beginning of the expansion of the Universe 13,8 billion years ago. Over time, energy has undergone a constant redistribution between different forms, leading to a succession of cosmic epochs: the inflationary epoch, the heating epoch, the radiation epoch, the matter epoch, and the dark energy epoch.
However, scientists have suggested that between these epochs there may have been long periods of stability, when the balance between matter, radiation and dark energy remained constant despite the expansion of the Universe. During such periods, there was no dominant form of energy, and the evolution of the cosmos seemed to come to a standstill.
This hypothesis arose during the study of axions, hypothetical particles that could explain the existence of dark matter. Simulations showed that the decay of heavy particles with the release of energy could create epochs of stasis, replacing the classical stages of the evolution of the universe.
If this hypothesis is confirmed, it would help solve the Hubble problem – a discrepancy in measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe. Periods of stagnation could have affected estimates of the growth rate the universe. In addition, the era of inflation, according to this theory, could not be a period of rapid expansion, but rather a period of stagnation.
To test the hypothesis, scientists propose to investigate gravitational waves, the properties of which may reflect traces of the stagnation of the early Universe, as well as the structure of dark matter, the distribution of which in space could have changed due to periods of stagnation.
If this bold hypothesis is confirmed, it will be a real revolution in cosmology and force a revision of key models of the Universe.
