UAH professor publishes paper reconceptualizing the creation of the universe
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — When we think about the scientific theory of the creation of the universe, we often picture a massive explosion in association with the Big Bang theory, but that is not where things stopped.
The universe is constantly expanding, and researchers want to understand how that process is happening. They know that the universe remains in constant motion and is ever-growing, but the forces that drive the expansion of our cosmos remain a little mysterious.
What happens when you accidentally call 911?
Much of our known universe is theorized to be made up of dark matter, which is essentially just matter that can not be measured. Likewise, the unmeasured force that accelerates our expansion is called dark energy. While we believe they are present, researchers have spent decades looking for evidence.
'The biggest stumbling block is that we're not finding these particles,' said UAH professor and researcher Richard Lieu. Lieu said about 20 years ago he began asking himself if researchers were on the right track.'The current paradigm, the situation is, that the more we don't find it, the more we throw money at it,' Lieu said.
'We want answers and justice': Family of 13 year old Ryland Calvert speaking out two weeks after deadly shooting
Researchers are looking into space and digging into the earth's crust to detect dark matter, but so far, little evidence has been found.'We seem to be insisting that 98% of the universe is comprising unknowns,' Lieu said. 'Using unknowns to explain unknowns is not enlightenment science.'In his paper published this year, Lieu offers an explanation for why we are not finding particle evidence. He said the universe is expanding by singularities, which happen very rarely and end very quickly. 'You can actually propel the universe, even into an accelerated state for example, by repeatedly having these episodes of temporal singularities, namely, short bursts which fill the whole of space simultaneously, and then, suddenly those particles disappear again,' Lieu said.It sounds a bit like magic, a force appearing then disappearing and leaving no evidence behind, but Lieu has done the math, and he said his theory obeys conservation laws. Moreover, it would explain why we do not observe dark matter and dark energy.'When all the obvious explanations are ruled out, then the more exotic options will have to be considered,' Lieu said.
Lieu published his research entitled 'Are dark matter and dark energy omnipresent?' in March in the journal of Classical and Quantum Gravity.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Big Bang theory is wrong, claim scientists
The Big Bang theory is wrong and the universe is sitting inside a black hole, scientists have suggested. Researchers have believed everything that exists exploded from a single point of infinite density, or singularity, since the 1930s, when Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian theoretical physicist, proposed that the universe emerged from a 'primeval atom' – the theory known as the Big Bang. Now an international team of physicists, led by the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, has suggested instead that the universe formed following a huge gravitational collapse that generated a massive black hole. Matter within the black hole was crunched down before the huge amounts of stored energy caused it to bounce back like a compressed spring, creating our universe. The new theory has been named Black Hole Universe and suggests that, rather than the birth of the universe being from nothing, it is the continuation of a cosmic cycle. It also suggests that the edge of our universe is the event horizon of a black hole, from which light cannot escape, making it impossible for us to see beyond into our parent universe. It implies other black holes may also contain unseen universes. Prof Enrique Gaztañaga said: 'We've shown that gravitational collapse does not have to end in a singularity and found that a collapsing cloud of matter can reach a high-density state and then bounce, rebounding outward into a new expanding phase. 'What emerges on the other side of the bounce is a universe remarkably like our own. Even more surprisingly, the rebound naturally produces a phase of accelerated expansion driven not by a hypothetical field but by the physics of the bounce itself. 'We now have a fully worked-out solution that shows the bounce is not only possible – it's inevitable under the right conditions.' The Big Bang theory was based on classic physics, but scientists have struggled to make it fit with known effects of quantum mechanics, which sets a limit on how much matter can be compressed. Physicists such as Roger Penrose and Prof Stephen Hawking had suggested that gravitational collapse inside a black hole must lead to a singularity, but under the new model that does not need to happen. Matter does not need to crunch down infinitely, just enough so it can bounce back. Unlike the Big Bang theory, the new theory model aligns with both the general theory of relativity and quantum physics. Prof Gaztañaga added: 'In contrast to the famous singularity theorems by Penrose and Hawking, which assume that matter can be compressed indefinitely, we rely on the fact that quantum physics places fundamental limits on how much matter can be compressed. 'The Black Hole Universe also offers a new perspective on our place in the cosmos. In this framework, our entire observable universe lies inside the interior of a black hole formed in some larger 'parent' universe. 'We are not special. We are not witnessing the birth of everything from nothing, but rather the continuation of a cosmic cycle – one shaped by gravity, quantum mechanics, and the deep interconnections between them.' The theory that the universe might exist inside a black hole was first proposed in 1972 by Raj Kumar Pathria, an Indian theoretical physicist, but gained little traction. However, recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope have reignited interest in the concept. In March, images of early galaxies showed that two-thirds were spinning clockwise, while a third were rotating anti-clockwise. In a random universe, the distribution should be even – so something was causing an anomaly. One explanation is that the universe was born rotating, which would occur if it had been created in the interior of a black hole. Lior Shamir, an associate professor of computer science at Kansas State University said: 'That explanation agrees with theories such as black hole cosmology, which postulates that the entire universe is the interior of a black hole.' Black holes form when the core of a massive star collapses under its own galaxy, leading to a supernova explosion. They cannot be seen because of the strong gravity that is pulling light into the black hole's centre. However, scientists can see the effects of its strong gravity on the stars and gases around it, and it sometimes forms an accretion disc of spiralling gas which emits x-rays. Under the theory of black hole cosmology, each black hole could produce a new 'baby universe' connected to the outside universe through a an Einstein-Rosen bridge, or a 'wormhole'. Scientists are hoping that the new model may be able to explain other mysteries in the universe, such as the origin of supermassive black holes, the nature of dark matter, or the formation and evolution of galaxies. The new research was published in the journal Physical Review D. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Universe was not formed in big bang but ‘bounced' out of black hole
The Universe may not have started with the Big Bang, but instead 'bounced' out of a massive black hole formed within a larger 'parent' universe, according to a new scientific paper. Professor Enrique Gaztanaga, from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said that the current Big Bang theory was problematic as the laws of physics 'broke down' when used to explain it. His new explanation, published in the journal Physical Review D, suggests that the Universe was formed as a result of a gravitational collapse in a larger universe which generated a massive black hole leading to a rebound or 'bounce' causing our universe to emerge. Professor Gaztanaga said: 'The Big Bang model begins with a point of infinite density where the laws of physics break down. 'This is a deep theoretical problem that suggests the beginning of the Universe is not fully understood. 'We've questioned that model and tackled questions from a different angle – by looking inward instead of outward. 'Instead of starting with an expanding universe and asking how it began, we considered what happens when an over-density of matter collapses under gravity.' Prof Gaztanaga explained that the theory developed by his team of researchers worked within the principles of quantum mechanics and the model could be tested scientifically. He said: 'We've shown that gravitational collapse does not have to end in a singularity and found that a collapsing cloud of matter can reach a high-density state and then bounce, rebounding outward into a new expanding phase. 'Crucially, this bounce occurs entirely within the framework of general relativity, combined with the basic principles of quantum mechanics. What emerges on the other side of the bounce is a universe remarkably like our own. 'Even more surprisingly, the rebound naturally produces a phase of accelerated expansion driven not by a hypothetical field but by the physics of the bounce itself. 'We now have a fully worked-out solution that shows the bounce is not only possible – it's inevitable under the right conditions. 'One of the strengths of this model is that it makes predictions that can be thoroughly tested. And what's more this new model has also revealed that the Universe is slightly curved, like the surface of the Earth.' He added: 'Furthermore, it could also shed new light on other deep mysteries in our understanding of the early universe such as the origin of supermassive black holes, the nature of dark matter, or the formation and evolution of galaxies.' Prof Gaztanaga, who is the science co-ordinator for the ARRAKIHS ESA space mission, said that the four wide-angle telescopes on the satellite could help confirm the theory through its ability to detect ultra-low surface brightness structures in the outskirts of galaxies which he explained were essential for studying how galaxies grow and evolve.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
We May Be Living in a Black Hole from a Parent Universe, Here's Why That Matters
A group of physicists just put forward a theory that could shake our understanding of where we came from, and where we're going. According to their new model, our universe may have originated not in a singular explosion, but as a bounce from inside a black hole formed in a previous 'parent' universe. That's right: you could be living inside a black hole. This bold claim comes from a paper led by Professor Enrique Gaztanaga of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences in Barcelona published in Physical Review D. He and his team argue that the Big Bang wasn't the beginning of everything, but rather a cosmic transition point in a cycle that never really starts or ends. The idea centers around the Pauli exclusion principle, which is a well-known quantum rule that prevents identical particles from occupying the same space. Gaztanaga believes this principle prevents the total collapse of matter in a dying universe, forcing it to "bounce" and expand again, forming a new universe inside what we would call a black hole. Here's the twist: unlike many speculative physics models, this one doesn't require exotic particles or untestable fields. The bounce, according to the paper, occurs naturally within Einstein's framework of general relativity. Even the two phases of expansion, what we call inflation and dark energy, can be explained by the dynamics of the bounce itself. What makes this model especially compelling is that it's testable. The team predicts a slightly curved universe and a small but measurable cosmological constant. These could potentially be confirmed by upcoming missions like the European Space Agency's Arrakihs satellite. If proven correct, it would upend one of the most deeply held beliefs in modern physics—that the universe began with a singularity. Instead, we'd be part of an endless chain of universes, each born from the collapse of the last. 'We are not witnessing the birth of everything from nothing,' Gaztanaga writes. 'But rather the continuation of a cosmic cycle.' And if he's right, the Big Bang wasn't our beginning. It was just our turn. We May Be Living in a Black Hole from a Parent Universe, Here's Why That Matters first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 9, 2025
