A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that nearly 13.8 billion years of continuous expansion of the Universe may soon stop, and then it will slowly shrink.
The study is based on a physical-mathematical model created by three scientists, which shows the expansion of our universe due to the mysterious dark energy. In the team model, dark energy is not a constant force of nature, but an entity called the “quintessence that can weaken over time.”
According to the established model, the expansion of the universe is already slowing down. Soon, perhaps in 65 million years, this acceleration may cease altogether, and then, in just over 100 million years, it could enter an era of slow contraction.
According to scientists, at first the contraction of the universe will be so slow that any hypothetical people who will still live on Earth, will not even notice the change. According to the team’s model, the universe will take several billion years of slow compression to reach about half of its current size. Compression can result in a large collapse that will kill space-time as we know it – the universe will shrink just enough to return to a state similar to its original conditions. Then another Big Bang is possible and a new universe will be created from the ashes of the old one.
In the second scenario, the universe follows a cyclical expansion and contraction that constantly destroys and rebuilds it. If this is true, then our current universe may not be the first and not the only one, but simply the last in an endless series of universes that have expanded and contracted. How plausible is all this? Nobody can give an answer. It remains only to wait and wait a very long time.
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