Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity has been a pillar of contemporary physics for more than a century. But according to a recent study, there is a slight discrepancy between Einstein’s predictions and how the universe has behaved during different cosmic eras.
To better understand the accelerating expansion of the universe, which was discovered 25 years ago, Paul Sabatier – a researcher at the University of Geneva and the University of Toulouse III – examined data from the Dark Energy Survey. When applied to a global scale, variations in the analysis emerged that cast doubt on Einstein’s equations, especially for extrasolar events.
These results, title “Measurement of the Weyl Potential Evolution from the First Three Years of Dark Energy Survey Data,” which were published in nature communication, Give rise to new debates over the validity of general relativity and the forces affecting the universe. The results point to gaps in our knowledge of space-time and dark energy, but they do not refute Einstein’s theories.
according to Albert Einstein’s theory, The universe is distorted by matter like a big, flexible sheet. These distortions caused by the gravity of celestial bodies are called “gravity wells”. When light passes through this irregular structure, its trajectory is bent by these wells, similar to the effect of a glass lens. However, in this case, it is gravity, not the glass, that bends the light. This phenomenon is known as “gravitational lensing”.
Observing it provides insight into the components, history, and expansion of the universe. Its first measurements, taken during a solar eclipse in 1919, confirmed Einstein’s theory, which predicted a light deflection twice as large as that predicted by Isaac Newton. This difference arises from Einstein’s introduction of a major new element: the distortion of time, in addition to the distortion of space, to obtain the precise curvature of light.
“Until now, Dark Energy Survey data have been used to measure the distribution of matter in the universe. In our study, we used this data to directly measure the distortion of time and space, allowing us to interpret our findings. Can be compared with Einstein’s predictions.” says Camille Bonvin, Associate Professor in the Department of Theoretical Physics at UNIGE’s Faculty of Sciences, who led the research.
“We found that in the distant past – between 6 and 7 billion years ago – the depths of the wells match well with Einstein’s predictions. However, closer to today, 3.5 and 5 billion years ago, they are deeper than Einstein predicted. are slightly shallower,” revealed Isaac Toutoousos, an assistant astronomer at the Institute of Research in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP/OMP) at the university; Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier and lead author of the study.
