Dark matter may be behind the universe's death

Cosmological models that point to the universe will end in the "Little Rip" scenario, in which galaxies are gradually torn into small pieces after millions of years.

New research by Portuguese scientists shows that the universe will be ripped apart by dark matter , according to the International Business Times. The analysis of many different modes of dark matter allows the team to calculate the most likely scenario of the end of the universe.

In the past, researchers have provided a number of scenarios about the process of the universe ending. For example, the Big Freeze scenario assumes that the universe will become so large that the gas source is also large, making it difficult for new stars to form. Gradually, existing stars will burn out and the universe will only have black holes left. According to another scenario called Big Crunch , the expansion of the universe will slow down and eventually stop. After that, the universe will collapse into.

The third scenario, Big Rip , thinks that a dark energy will become stronger over time. The universe expanded with increasing speed. By the time it was unable to keep up with the speed of expansion, the universe would tear into small pieces. Atoms will decay into radioactivity and release elementary particles. An important part of this scenario is the ratio of pressure to density of dark energy. If the value drops to a negative level, the universe will tear almost immediately.

The universe may be slowly torn by dark matter.(Photo: iStock).

In a draft report posted on arxiv.org on November 1, Mariam Bouhmadi-López and colleagues at Lisbon University of Technology, Portugal, examined in more detail the Big Rip scenario.

Much of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy. We only know that dark matter exists because of its interaction with gravity, which prevents galaxies from rotating until it dissolves. Scientists believe dark energy is the force that drives the universe to expand. If the expansion rate of the universe is not constant, the hypothesis of dark energy may be a reasonable explanation. Dark energy becomes denser when the universe is bigger. In the end, it could make the universe torn.

Bouhmadi-López's team examines three ways the universe ends, in which the process of destruction happens slowly (Big Rip) , occurs faster (Little Sibling of Big Rip) and happens slowly (Little Rip ) . "All three cases have in common that in the distant future, every structure in the universe will tear at a finite time," the study authors said.

Whichever is more likely to happen depends on the density of dark energy. In some places in the universe, dark energy is concentrated more dense. This means that elsewhere, they can move faster or slower. The team used the results of measuring the growth rate of dark matter and comparing it with observations to evaluate three scenarios. They discovered Little Rip is the most feasible scenario.

Last year, scientists at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA used the model to calculate the universe's equilibrium point at a rate of incremental expansion. Their mathematical formula shows that the universe will end in the Big Rip scenario after 22 billion years.