Last update:November 3, 2024, 12:00 IST

Dark energy is thought to make up about 70% of the universe and this hypothesis was not formulated until the late 1990s, when theorists and astronomers noted that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up.

Black holes can generate dark energy. (Photo credits:

Scientists have introduced a groundbreaking theory positing that black holes might have something to do with the expansion of the universe. This research suggests that black holes may contain a type of energy that is part of dark energy, the force that astronomers believe may be driving the continued acceleration of the universe. Reportedly, the paper was presented in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics on October 28.

Dark energy is thought to make up about 70% of the universe and this hypothesis was not formulated until the late 1990s, when theorists and astronomers noted that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up. This led to the introduction of a new theory of dark energy, an anti-gravitational force that causes galaxies to accelerate and move away from each other. To date, many studies have been conducted on dark energy, but the specifics and origins of the concept are not yet well understood.

A recent paper by researchers at universities including the University of Michigan and Arizona State University introduced a new idea called cosmological coupling. They said black holes are not just passive objects, but could play an active role in dark energy interactions. The researchers say they prove their conjecture that although black holes develop from dying massive stars, they can also create dark energy, thus linking the formation of black holes to the expansion of the universe.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) study tracks millions of galaxies to determine how the density of dark energy varies during the evolution of the universe. The authors established an increased tendency for the formation of new black holes with increasing dark energy density. When stars much larger than the Sun shed their outer layers to form what is called a black hole, they can emit energy that impacts dark energy and at the same time be affected by it .

By analyzing the details of supermassive black holes in distant elliptical galaxies, as seen billions of years ago, and comparing them with those in the universe currently observable, the team discovered that these holes blacks had increased their mass over time. This supports the idea that black holes may contain vacuum energy, the force of which pushes outward and helps the universe expand.

If this hypothesis proves correct, it would revolutionize conventional knowledge about black holes and dark energy. Gregory Tarle, one of the study’s authors, pointed out that knowing in which direction gravity is strongest at the centers of black holes could shed light on conditions consistent with those seen in inflation in the first moments of the creation of the universe. According to the study, events that occur during inflation could be reversed during gravitational collapse, converting matter back into dark energy.

Although this hypothesis seems to offer a rather promising view of the origin of dark energy, it still arouses skepticism within the scientific community. Scientists have not provided enough evidence to support the hypothesis that black holes have anything to do with dark energy. However, the researchers hope that similar observations with tools such as DESI will further improve this knowledge in the future.