The rapid expansion of the universe constitutes the most puzzling enigma in physics.

To solve this cosmic puzzle, scientists are turning to the fundamental laws of physics, including Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

A team of scientists compared Einstein’s theory of general relativity with data from the Dark Energy Survey. They discovered a “slight divergence” in the behavior of gravity at different cosmic epochs.

This means that this theory might not apply to all parts of the universe.

The study indicates that gravitational distortions observed in distant galaxies show subtle discrepancies with the predictions of Einstein’s theory.

Space-time distortion

Einstein’s theory of general relativity fundamentally changed our understanding of gravity.

He proposed that massive objects distort the fabric of space-time, much like a heavy ball bending a sheet of rubber.

These depressions in space-time, caused by the gravitational pull of massive celestial bodies, are known as gravity wells.

When massive objects, like galaxies or black holesdeformation of the space-time gravitational lens fabric occurs. This distortion bends the path of light passing nearby, in the same way that a glass lens bends light.

This phenomenon allows scientists to study distant objects and better understand the structure and expansion of the universe.

The observation of the 1919 solar eclipse confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity. It showed that light bends twice as much as Newton’s theory predicted due to the combined effects of warping space and time.

Analysis of distant galaxies

The Dark Energy Survey seeks to probe the underlying causes of the accelerating expansion of the universe. This astronomical study mapped hundreds of millions of galaxies, which helped the team in this new study.

“In our study, we used these data to directly measure the distortion of time and space, which allowed us to compare our results with Einstein’s predictions,” said Camille Bonvin, associate professor at the University of Geneva.

The team analyzed 100 million galaxies from different times in the history of the universe, including 3.5, 5, 6 and 7 billion years ago. This analysis allowed them to study the evolution of gravity wells over time.

“We discovered that in the distant past – 6 or 7 billion years ago – the depth of the wells corresponded well to Einstein’s predictions. However, closer to today, 3.5 and 5 billion years ago, they are slightly shallower than Einstein predicted,” explained Isaac Tutusaus, assistant astronomer at Paul Sabatier University.

This suggests that gravity might behave differently on large cosmic scales than predicted by Einstein’s theory.

“Our results show that Einstein’s predictions have a 3 sigma incompatibility with the measurements. In the language of physics, such an incompatibility threshold arouses our interest and calls for further investigation. But this incompatibility is not large enough, at this stage, to invalidate Einstein’s theory, said Nastassia Grimm, postdoctoral researcher at UNIGE, in the press release.

Researchers are currently working to examine data from the Euclid Space Telescope.

Euclid’s precise measurements of gravitational lensing and his observation of 1.5 billion galaxies will allow a more precise understanding of space-time distortions. This will make it possible to better test Einstein’s theory of general relativity on a universal scale.

The results were published in the journal Natural communication.