Report brings scientists closer to understanding dark energy

Over the past decade, Dark Energy Survey (DES) has been collecting and Analyzes data on dark energy to try to solve one of the biggest mysteries in science; Currently, scientists understand only 5% of all matter in the universe, with the remaining 68% and 27% being energy and 27% respectively. This Tuesday (9) DES published new results containing the most sensitive measurements of dark energy to date.

From data collected over six years, more than 400 astrophysicists, astronomers and cosmologists from more than 25 institutions analyzed the information to understand dark energy and thus the expansion rate of the universe. Like this, Scientists have discovered that the density of dark energy may not be heterogeneous across billions of years of the universe.

Over the years, Researchers studied more than 1,500 supernovae and related them to the concept of the expansion of the universe. According to scientists, in 1998 the expansion of the universe was attributed to an element that remains a mystery to astronomers: dark energy, which is responsible for almost 70% of everything in existence.

“I’m proud of the work we did as a team; an incredibly comprehensive analysis that reduced our uncertainties to new levels and demonstrated the power of the Dark Energy Probe. Not only did we use cutting-edge technology. “We also developed pioneering methods to extract the most information from the Supernova Probe,” said one of the authors. I am particularly proud of this because I developed the method for selecting supernovae used for research with machine learning,” said Anais Möller, from the Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

dark energy

As the researchers explained in an official statement, Dark Energy Survey results are consistent with the current cosmological model; In other words, it suggests that the universe is expanding at an increasing rate. Using a pioneering photometry technique, the study was able to detect, classify and measure the light curves of type 1a supernovae observed over many years.

Type 1a supernovae are explosions that occur in binary star systems; Using this data, it is possible to measure very long distances in space. Although dark energy remains a mystery to scientists, measurements show that it is linked to the expansion of the universe. In fact, the results show that the ‘Big Rip’ models, which claim that the universe will disappear with a high expansion rate, have come to an end.

“It’s a very exciting time to see this innovative technology harness the power of major astronomical surveys. “Not only did we manage to obtain more type 1a supernovae than before, but we also tested these methods extensively because we wanted to make more precise measurements about the fundamental physics of our Universe,” Möller said in a press release.

Did you like the content? Stay up to date with other astronomy-related works at TecMundo. If you want, take the opportunity to read a study that reveals massive stars and supernovae in the ancient Universe.