Latest cosmology the model combines two of the most eccentric ideas in up-to-date physics to explain the nature of obscure matter, an unseen substance that makes up about 85 percent of all matter in the universe. To understand this, you need to look beyond the Large Bang that we all know and consider two concepts that rarely intersect: cyclic universes and primordial black holes.
A different kind of multiverse
There are different versions of the “multiverse”. The most popular model – the Marvel Cinematic Universe – assumes that there are as many universes as possible and that these versions of reality are parallel. Physics proposes something more sober and mathematically coherent: cosmic reflection.
In this model, the universe is not born from a singularity, but expands, contracts and expands again in an infinite cycle. Each “universe” is not parallel, but sequential – that is, one arises from the ashes of the previous one.
Is it possible for something to survive the end of its universe and survive into the next one? According to the publication published in Physical inspection dYes. Author Enrique Gaztanaga, research professor at the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, shows that any structure larger than about 90 meters can survive the final collapse of the universe and survive the rebound. These “relics” would not only survive, but could also give rise to the gigantic, unexplained structures observed in the early stages of the up-to-date universe. What’s more, they may be the key to understanding obscure matter.
For decades, the dominant explanation for obscure matter was that it was an unknown particle or particles. But after years of experimentation without direct discoveries, physicists began to explore alternatives. One of them suggests that obscure matter is not an exotic particle, but an bountiful population of diminutive black holes that we overlook.
The idea is attractive, but it has a stern problem. For these black holes to explain obscure matter, they would have to have existed from the earliest moments of the universe, long before the first stars collapsed. There are indications that these objects may exist, but there is no convincing physical mechanism to explain their origin.
A universe born with black holes
This is where Gaztanaga’s newly proposed model shines. If cosmic reflections allowed compact structures to survive the collapse of the previous universe, then the current universe would have already been born with pre-existing black holes. They would not have to arise from extreme fluctuations or finely tuned inflationary processes, but would simply exist from the first moment.
This assumption has the potential to solve two mysteries at once: the origin of black holes and the nature of obscure matter. If this model is correct, obscure matter would not be the secret of the early universe, but rather the legacy of a cosmos older than ours.
“Much work remains to be done,” said Gaztanaga, also a researcher at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravity at the University of Portsmouth, in an article for the magazine Conversation. “These ideas need to be tested with data ranging from the gravitational wave background to galaxy surveys and precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background.”
“But the possibility is great,” he added. “The universe may not have started once, but it may have bounced back. And the dark structures that shape today’s galaxies may be relics from a time before the Big Bang.”
This story originally appeared on WIRED in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.