The expansion of the universe has long been a puzzle for scientists, as they disagree about the exact speed of this expansion and the reasons behind it. This controversy has become complex with the increasing accuracy of the measurements obtained.

Until now, it has been believed in the scientific community that a mysterious force known as “dark energy” is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. But the new study reveals that the expansion is not accelerating at all, but on the contrary.

Research that won the Nobel Prize in 2011 confirmed that “dark energy” is driving the universe to expand at an increasing speed. However, a team from Yonsei University in South Korea has now come up with results that turn this idea on its head.

Professor Young-Wook Lee, leader of the research team, said: “Our study shows that the universe has already entered a slow expansion phase, and that dark energy is changing rapidly than we imagined.” He adds: “If these results are confirmed, they will constitute a fundamental shift in the cosmic model that has prevailed since the discovery of dark energy 27 years ago.”

This new discovery is based on a careful review of data from “supernovas” – stellar explosions that scientists use as a standard candle to measure the expansion of the universe.

Scientists discovered that the age of these stars affects their brightness, which is perhaps what led to incorrect measurements in the past.

When scientists took this factor into account, they found that the data did not match the previous model of the acceleration of the universe, but rather clearly indicated that the cosmic expansion began to slow down.

This important discovery, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, may change our basic understanding of the fate of the universe, and push scientists to reconsider one of the most important astronomical discoveries of the twenty-first century.

Source: Independent