Four problems,
one solution
Cosmology is facing four huge, interrelated
problems. A resurgent theory called teleparallel
gravity might provide answers to them all
PROBLEM 1:
DARK MATTER
Beginning in the 1970s, astronomers began to
realise that many galaxies are rotating so fast that
they ought to spin themselves apart – unless, that is,
they contain extra, invisible matter. Further evidence
has led us to believe that this dark matter makes up
more than 80 per cent of all matter in the universe –
but we don’t know what it is.
PROBLEM 2:
INFLATION
In order to explain how uniform the universe is on
the largest scales, cosmologists think it ballooned at
incredible speed soon after the big bang. But what
triggered this period of inflation and what switched it
off? One hypothesis involves a quantum field that has
since disappeared for unexplained reasons.
PROBLEM 3:
DARK ENERGY
In 1998, we discovered that the universe’s rate
of expansion is accelerating. So far, all cosmologists
have been able to do is give this phenomenon a
name: dark energy. We have very little idea what
it actually is.
PROBLEM 4:
THE HUBBLE TENSION
We can measure the present-day expansion rate of
the universe – known as the Hubble constant – in two
ways, one based on nearby supernovae and another
based on radiation left over from soon after the big
bang, called the cosmic microwave background
(CMB). The latter method gives a number that is about
10 per cent smaller than that given by the former.
SOLUTION:
Under teleparallel gravity, there is no need to
invoke dark matter or dark energy. Instead we have
a different picture of how ordinary matter responds
to gravity. Inflation still happens, but it is a natural
consequence of the state of the early universe. The
Hubble tension also disappears. If gravity operates
differently to how we think on the largest scales,
then we would need to tweak the way we analyse
the CMB. Indeed a version of teleparallel gravity
has already been shown to resolve the Hubble tension
in principle (see main story).
easy. The idea comes in so many flavours that
no single test would prove it right or wrong.
Instead, progress is more likely to come from
tests that push general relativity past its
breaking point. So far, Einstein’s theory has
proved singularly resilient, even describing
extreme scenarios like the collisions of black
holes to perfection.
Mysterious equivalence
There may be one way to directly test
teleparallel gravity and that is through
the equivalence principle, the bedrock idea
on which general relativity is built. The
principle says that an object’s gravitational
mass, which responds to the warping of
space-time, is the same as its inertial
mass, which resists acceleration.
In general relativity, the equivalence
principle has to be true, or the theory collapses.
But there has never been an obvious reason
this is so. All we know is that, empirically,
the principle is sound – at least in all
measurements we have made so far.
One manifestation of the principle is that all
objects fall to Earth with the same acceleration
regardless of their mass, as long as things like
air resistance don’t interfere. We already know
this is true to an accuracy of one part in a
trillion. But if we found even the tiniest
difference, that would show that general
relativity is wrong and point strongly
towards teleparallel gravity.
There is one proposed experiment that
might just be capable of checking this. The
Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle
project aims to put eight different test
masses into orbit, shield them from drag and
measure how they respond to Earth’s gravity
in minute detail. If any difference appears
between the behaviour of the masses, that
would be a violation of equivalence – and
teleparallelism will be right there waiting
to explain the results.
Einstein himself never gave up on finding an
alternative to quantum theory until his death
in 1955. His forgotten theory isn’t what he once
hoped it could be. But it is possible that his
twisted vision of space wasn’t entirely wrong.
For now, at least, Einstein’s dream is still alive. ❚
Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at
Stony Brook University in New York.
His latest book is How to Die in
Space (Pegasus Books)
16 October 2021 | New Scientist | 49