Physicists have deduced subtle hints that the mysterious “dark” energy that drives the universe to expand faster and faster may be slightly weakening with time. It’s a finding that has the potential to shake the foundations of physics.
“If true, it would be the first real clue we have gotten about the nature of dark energy in 25 years,” said Adam Riess, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University who won the Nobel Prize for co-discovering dark energy in 1998.
The new observations come from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) team, which today unveiled a map of the cosmos of unprecedented scope, along with a bonanza of measurements derived from the map. To many researchers, the highlight is a plot showing that three different combinations of observations all insinuate that the influence of dark energy may have eroded over the eons.
“It’s possible we’re seeing hints of dark energy evolving,” said Dillon Brout of Boston University, a member of the DESI team.
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