Overview

According to astrophysicists from the University of Cambridge, the University of Trento, and Harvard University, cosmic inflation and the Big Bang could be ruled out by the detection of cosmic graviton background (CGB). Thus, the birth of the Universe as we know it could be wrong.

The science and other stuff to know

As detailed in a new eye-opening report published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, an international team of astrophysicists claims the Universe may have begun with a “Big Bounce” rather than a Big Bang. To put it into perspective, these researchers argue that the cosmos may have begun following the collapse of an earlier universe (a bounce) and not as the result of space-time inflating exponentially into existence.

The first author of the study, Sunny Vagnozzi said in a statement, “Inflation was theorized to explain various fine-tuning challenges of the so-called hot Big Bang model. It also explains the origin of structure in our universe as a result of quantum fluctuations.”

Vagnozzi further argues that it’s possible to prove the previous theory wrong, even after eliminating “individual inflationary models”. Together with his research team, he suggests that astrophysicists should conduct a deeper investigation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). These CMBs are among the electromagnetic remnants of the ancient universe.

In 2013, the European Space Agency’s Planck spacecraft first measured the CMB. While some scientists held up the measurements as a confirmation of cosmic inflation, others questioned the interpretations. Some researchers even argued that the cosmic inflation theory posed even more questions than it answered.

“When the results from the Planck satellite were announced, they were held up as a confirmation of cosmic inflation,” Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb explained. “However, some of us argued that the results might be showing just the opposite.”

So what?

Researchers need to probe deeper right into the universe’s creation to understand its actual origin.

“The actual edge of the observable universe is at the distance that any signal could have traveled at the speed-of-light limit over the 13.8 billion years that elapsed since the birth of the universe,” Loeb explains. “As a result of the expansion of the Universe, this edge is currently located 46.5 billion light years away… What lies beyond the horizon is unknown.”

However, this won’t be an easy task. As Loeb explains, knowing what came before the current universe “require a predictive theory of quantum gravity, which isn’t available.”

What’s next?

Despite the challenges in understanding the origin of the universe, researchers are still confident. The team suggests hunting for the CGB, which are made up of freely traveling gravitons. These particles might hold the key to explaining gravitational interactions, according to researchers.

As per the Big Bang theory, the CGB would have diluted, so scientists wouldn’t detect it. But if they can, they could prove the Big Bang wrong.