Black holes may be expanding the universe mysteriously.
From clocks to stars, everything seems to stop eventually. This seems to not apply to one very big thing. The Universe keeps expanding.
Our physical models of the universe suggest that growth should slow. Dark energy accelerates it, according to observations. This is a giant pickle dilly.
Some scientists believe black holes—massive, dense, expanding concentrations of matter—may explain it.
"Black holes with dark energy can couple to and grow with the expanding universe, accelerating its growth," explains Arizona State University astrophysicist Kevin Croker. "We can't get the details of how this is happening, but we can see evidence that it is happening."
Calculations indicate that whatever causes the accelerated expansion accounts for 70% of the Universe's matter-energy distribution.
Current theory suggests inflation was an early stage of cosmic growth. The Universe expanded in a split second after the Big Bang. It then developed slowly until dark energy took over around 5 billion years ago.
Whatever caused the Universe to inflate, slow, and accelerate had to resist the enormous gravity of a cosmic mass pressed together.
"Where in the later Universe is gravity as powerful as at the beginning? Black holes hold the answer, says University of Michigan physicist Gregory Tarlé.
Cosmological coupling, a novel concept derived from general relativity explanations of black hole weirdness, suggests that black holes may be involved in dark energy.