The Universe might not exist forever. New observations by physicists indicate that it will one day reach its maximum size before beginning to contract. These results profoundly change our view of cosmic destiny.
Recent calculations by Henry Tye, a physicist at Cornell University, rely on data from the Dark Energy Survey in Chile and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument in Arizona. These observatories, located in opposite hemispheres, obtained identical measurements of the behavior of dark energy, that still mysterious force that accelerates the expansion of the cosmos.
Until now, researchers believed that dark energy behaved like a positive constant, leading to endless expansion. But the new measurements point to a negative value, a possible sign of a future slowdown in this expansion. This would mean that eventually, gravity could prevail and cause a general contraction of space.
To explain this change, the physicist proposes the existence of a very light particle that appeared shortly after the Big Bang. It would modify the way dark energy acts on a large scale. This mathematical model fits well with observations and could clarify the irregularities measured in different cosmic eras.
Current telescopes have not finished exploring this phenomenon. The DESI project continues its surveys, while the Euclid space telescope and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will soon provide even more precise data. These instruments will measure the distances between millions of galaxies to better trace the evolution of cosmic expansion.
If researchers confirm that the cosmological constant is negative, it would change how we imagine the Universe. A scenario called the Big Crunch would then become plausible: after billions of years of expansion, everything would eventually collapse in on itself. This process is expected to take another approximately 20 billion years before reaching its endpoint, a singularity similar to that of the Big Bang.
The question remains open: will the Universe experience an eternal cycle of expansion and contraction? Future observations should help us understand whether our cosmos is heading toward a cold death or a new beginning after a total collapse.