The universe we live in has been continuously expanding since the Big Bang event took place about 13.8 billion years ago. Yet what drives the expansion of the universe is one of the biggest questions in modern physics and astronomy. Dark energy, which accounts for about 68% of the universe’s total energy, is believed to be the main force driving the expansion of the universe. Matter, including normal matter (only about 5%) and dark matter (about 27%), plays a role in creating the structure of the universe but is strongly influenced by dark energy.
This article will explore how matter and dark energy interact in the expanding universe, and explore their role in determining the universe’s ultimate fate.
What is Dark Energy?
Dark energy is a mysterious form of energy that makes up most of the universe, but we still do not understand its nature. What we do know is that dark energy tends to push galaxies apart, causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. The discovery came from observations of Type Ia supernovae in the late 1990s, when astronomers noticed that distant galaxies were moving away faster than what was predicted based on the force attraction of ordinary matter.
Dark energy has an important property: it is uniformly distributed throughout space and does not interact with matter the way conventional forces like electromagnetism or gravity do. Instead, dark energy only affects the large scale of the universe, and it is the main cause of accelerating the expansion of the universe.
Ordinary Matter and Dark Matter
The matter we are familiar with – including stars, planets, galaxies and even humans – makes up only a very small portion, about 5% of the total energy in the universe. Most of the remaining mass in the universe is dark matter, a form of matter that does not emit or absorb light, making it impossible to observe directly. However, scientists have determined the existence of dark matter thanks to its gravitational pull on normal matter and light.
Dark matter helps maintain large structures in the universe, such as galaxies and galaxy clusters. Without dark matter, the gravitational pull from regular matter would not be enough to hold stars and galaxies together. This makes dark matter important in maintaining the structure of the universe as it continues to expand.
Interaction Between Matter and Dark Energy
Although dark energy does not interact directly with ordinary matter or dark matter, its presence strongly impacts the way the universe evolves. As the universe expands, the distances between galaxies become larger and larger, but smaller structures such as planetary systems, stars and even galaxy clusters remain cohesive thanks to the force of the universe. gravity of dark matter.
However, as dark energy continues to push galaxies apart, the density of matter in the universe decreases over time. This leads to a future where galaxies will be so far apart that they no longer interact, and the universe may become a cold and empty place. This is one of the potential scenarios for the fate of the universe, known as the “Big Freeze”.
The Role of Dark Matter in Maintaining the Structure of the Universe
In the expanding universe, dark matter plays an important role in maintaining the stability of large structures such as galaxies and galaxy clusters. The gravitational force created by dark matter is the force that keeps stars in galaxies from being scattered by the expansion of the universe. Although dark energy causes the distance between galaxies to grow larger, in structures linked with dark matter, gravity is still strong enough to maintain this cohesion.
Thanks to dark matter, galaxies and galaxy clusters can exist for billions of years even though the universe is constantly expanding. However, with the constant expansion, scientists fear that, in the distant future, even the gravity of dark matter will not be enough to maintain the structure of the universe, and all structures will be separated.
The Fate of the Universe: Potential Scenarios
The future of the universe depends on the complex interactions between dark energy and matter. There are many potential scenarios for the ultimate fate of the universe, but most have to do with how dark energy affects the expansion of the universe.
– “Big Freeze”: This is the most popular scenario supported by many scientists. In this scenario, dark energy would continue to cause the universe to expand forever. As galaxies grow further apart, the universe will become cold and empty, as stars will eventually run out of energy and there will be no new star formation.
– “Big Crunch”: Some theories suggest that dark energy may change properties over time, and gravity may win out, causing the universe to begin to contract. In this scenario, the universe would collapse back to a single point, similar to conditions before the Big Bang.
– “Big Rip” (Big Rip): In this scenario, dark energy will become too strong and not only push galaxies apart but also disintegrate smaller structures such as galaxies and star systems , and even atoms, leading to the complete dissolution of the universe.
Dark energy
The interaction between matter and dark energy in the expanding universe is an important and challenging research topic in modern astronomy. Although we have made much progress in understanding this interaction, there are still many unanswered questions about the nature of dark energy and the ultimate fate of the universe.
Matter, especially dark matter, plays an important role in maintaining the structure of the universe. However, dark energy, with its ability to accelerate the expansion of the universe, may determine the fate of galaxies, galaxy clusters and the entire universe in the future. Further study of this interaction will help us better understand the structure and evolution of the universe, as well as find answers to the greatest mysteries of cosmology.
