Add BrightSurf on Google Email

Is the universe twisted? A new check on a possible twist in the universe’s oldest light

Researchers developed a method to test cosmic uncertainty in the universe's oldest light, which could provide evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. The team compared maps from different detectors to establish the calibration pattern, finding consistency with existing analysis.

SourceUniversity of California - San Diego·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateSep 24, 2026

Searching for dark matter with the world's biggest detector

Researchers at Kyoto University used the Earth's magnetic field to search for axions and dark photons, two leading candidates for dark matter. The team set new limits on axion mass, rivaling previous constraints from astrophysical observations, and detected potential signals from dark photons.

SourceKyoto University·JournalProgress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics·TypeObservational study·DateAug 4, 2026

Dark forces hinder the growth of the Universe

Researchers studied dark matter's potential additional attractive force and found it suppresses structure growth, contrary to expectations. The extra clustering effect is counterbalanced by a decrease in dark matter particles' mass over time, reducing the overall impact on cosmic microwave background observations.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateJun 22, 2026

Out of the string theory swampland

Researchers propose a new subset of string theories that incorporate dynamic tension could help describe the real universe without violating observational constraints. This approach may alleviate the 'swampland problem,' which has hindered conventional string theory's ability to reproduce inflation and dark energy.

SourceFoundational Questions Institute, FQXi·JournalThe European Physical Journal C·TypeContent analysis·DateJun 9, 2025

Black holes: not endings, but beginnings? New research could revolutionize our understanding of the universe

Researchers propose a revolutionary link between time and dark energy, suggesting that the mysterious force driving the universe's expansion may be used to measure time. The study could pave the way for groundbreaking new fundamental theories and breakthroughs in our understanding of the universe.

SourceUniversity of Sheffield·JournalPhysical Review Letters·TypeObservational study·DateMar 12, 2025

Euclid discovers a stunning Einstein ring

The Euclid space telescope has discovered a stunning Einstein ring in the galaxy NGC 6505, showcasing rare gravitational lensing effects. This remarkable finding demonstrates the power of Euclid's high-resolution instruments and provides new insights into the expansion of the Universe.

SourceEuropean Space Agency·JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics·DateFeb 10, 2025

Getting the most out of cosmic maps

Researchers have developed a new approach to analyzing cosmic maps, known as field-level inference, which preserves the fidelity of the data and can improve the determination of cosmological parameters by a factor of 3.5 to 5.2 compared to standard methods.

SourceUniversity of Michigan·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJan 20, 2025

Dark energy 'doesn’t exist' so can't be pushing 'lumpy' Universe apart – study

A team of physicists and astronomers found that the Universe is expanding in a more varied way than previously thought, making dark energy unnecessary. The new evidence supports the timescape model of cosmic expansion, which attributes differences in stretching light to calibration issues rather than dark energy.

SourceRoyal Astronomical Society·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters·DateDec 20, 2024

Evidence mounts for dark energy from black holes

Researchers found evidence that black holes contain dark energy, which could explain its mysterious nature. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument provided data showing a correlation between the growth of black holes and the increase in dark energy density over time.

SourceUniversity of Michigan·JournalJournal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics·DateOct 28, 2024

Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy

Researchers have built the most precise experiment yet to look for gravitational anomalies caused by dark energy, using a lattice atom interferometer that can hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds. While no deviation from predicted theory was found, the improved precision opens up possibilities for probing gravity at the quantum level.

SourceUniversity of California - Berkeley·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 26, 2024

Technical Trials for Easing the (Cosmological) Tension

A new study has sorted through models attempting to solve the cosmological tension, a discrepancy between two ways of calculating the universe's expansion. Three models that were previously viable solutions were excluded by the new data, while others reduced the tension but not solved it.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateApr 19, 2024

Astrophysicists propose a new way of measuring cosmic expansion: lensed gravitational waves

Researchers propose using lensed gravitational waves from binary black holes to measure cosmic expansion. The method uses the delays between repeat appearances of these signals to encode the universe's expansion rate. This approach does not rely on knowing the exact locations or distances of binary black holes, making it a promising to...

SourceUniversity of California - Santa Barbara·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJun 30, 2023

Astronomers discover new link between dark matter and clumpiness of the universe

Researchers at the University of Toronto have made a breakthrough in understanding dark matter and its impact on the universe's large-scale structure. By analyzing cosmic microwave background data and galaxy clustering patterns, they suggest that ultra-light axion particles could account for the observed lack of clumpiness.

SourceUniversity of Toronto·JournalJournal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateJun 14, 2023

Team led by NCKU researcher performs cosmological modeling to shed light on the nature of dark energy

A research group led by NCKU professor I-Non Chiu conducted the first cosmological study on galaxy clusters identified by eROSITA, analyzing 550 galaxy clusters. The results suggest that Dark Energy occupies up to 76% of the total energy density in the Universe.

SourceCactus Communications·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMay 22, 2023

Dark order in the universe

A team of scientists from Kyoto University has confirmed that galaxy alignments can be a powerful probe for dark matter and dark energy. The analysis of 1.2 million galaxy observations verified general theory of relativity at vast spatial scales, providing strong evidence for gravity's role in shaping the universe.

SourceKyoto University·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateApr 13, 2023

1st observational evidence linking black holes to dark energy

A team of researchers has discovered evidence of 'cosmological coupling' between black holes and the universe's expanding energy. By studying supermassive black holes in ancient galaxies, they found that these black holes gain mass over billions of years, matching predictions for black holes that cosmologically couple with vacuum energy.

SourceUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters·TypeObservational study·DateFeb 15, 2023

HETDEX reveals galaxy gold mine in first large survey

Astronomers have cataloged over 51,863 Lyman-alpha-emitting galaxies, 123,891 star-forming galaxies, and 4,976 active galactic nuclei using HETDEX's spectroscopic data. The survey is a non-targeted, moon-sized survey that collects spectra from 35,000 fiber optic cables, providing a unique dataset for future galaxy mapping.

SourceUniversity of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 9, 2023