Andromeda will be the laboratory to understand dark energy

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Scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK, proposed a new way to investigate dark energy . The hidden force that represents two-thirds of the total energy of the universe can be measured if we pay attention to the Andromeda Galaxy. Dark energy should not be confused with dark matter. Energy is a theoretical concept with which scientists explain the tendency of the universe to expand following acceleration.

This element does not seem to interact with ordinary matter like the rest of the known funda Phone Number List mental forces (such as gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear force). It cannot be seen either and none of the created instruments recognize it directly, but with each observation into space it is intuited. It is associated with the idea of ​​“vacuum energy” since one of the interpretations suggests that it is part of the very fabric of empty space.

Scientists have learned to study their behavior and nature in indirect ways. The evidence supports the dark energy hypothesis. By studying the displacement of galaxies, supernovae , and the distribution of cosmic radiation, researchers know that space naturally expands at different rates.

While dark energy expands the universe, dark matter keeps it unified. This dark universe, which cannot be grasped, is greater than everything visible. The current opinion of scientists is that 68% of the composition of the universal bubble is solely that unknown force.

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Dark energy through a galaxy collision
In the paper published for The Astrophysical Journal Letters , the Cambridge researchers postulate a new technique. The Milky Way and Andromeda are neighboring galaxies that are destined to join together due to the effect of gravitational force. Both have an approximate mass and a path in space. Astronomers have already calculated the time in which they will become a single cluster: 4,000 million years is the estimate for the collision.



The key to the Cambridge study is determining how dark energy alters Andromeda's orbit and modifies traditional shock estimates. To do this and through simulations, they seek to identify the value of the repulsive force of both galaxies. This measurement is also referred to as the cosmological constant. The term was introduced by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity and is considered the closest representation of dark energy. The constant and the energy are not the same. One is a product of the other.

“This force affects each pair of galaxies: gravity wants to bring them together while dark energy separates them. In our model, if we change the value of the cosmological constant, we can see how the orbit of the two sets of bodies changes” explained Doctor Davi Benisty, from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, author of the article.