Dark energy devouring dark matter to leave 'big empty Universe' – study — RT News
Dark matter, considered the scaffolding of the universe because it
provides the framework for its structures to build on, is being gobbled
up by dark energy, according to a new study.
Dark energy is
swallowing up dark matter, leaving a vast emptiness in its wake,
according to a study conducted by researchers in
Portsmouth and Rome. The findings suggest that dark energy
appears to be growing as it interacts with dark matter, which is
thought to make up more than 85 percent of all matter in the
universe.
"If the dark energy is growing and dark matter is evaporating
we will end up with a big, empty, boring Universe with almost
nothing in it," says Professor David Wands, a member of the
research team and Director of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology
and Gravitation.
Since the 1998 breakthrough discovery that the universe is
expanding at an accelerating rate, cosmologists have held that,
though mysterious, dark energy could be a universal constant.
However, this simple model does not explain why the growth of
cosmic structures, including galaxies and galaxy clusters, is
slower than expected.
