Warm Emptiness Instead of Dark Energy ⚡ экспресс
Researchers examined a modification of the standard ΛCDM cosmological model, replacing the cosmological constant (responsible for accelerated expansion) with the thermal energy of the vacuum, characterized by the Gibbons-Hawking temperature (the temperature inherent to the event horizon). It is shown that this substitution naturally resolves the 'Hubble tension' — the discrepancy between different methods of measuring the Hubble constant. In this picture, the vacuum is not static but possesses a thermal 'breathing', reminiscent of steam energy in a steam engine, just on cosmic scales. This simple change could reconcile conflicting data on the expansion of the Universe.
In the standard cosmological model ΛCDM, galaxies recede under the pressure of dark energy — an invisible spring. However, different methods of measuring the expansion rate give different numbers, as if the ruler's scale is off. This discrepancy was noticed by Edwin Hubble almost a century ago.
A new study proposes an alternative: replace the spring with heat. Emptiness is not empty — according to calculations by Stephen Hawking and Gary Gibbons, the boundary of the visible world, the cosmic horizon, has a tiny temperature. This heat presses from within, and the wider the horizon, the higher the temperature. Expansion becomes a thermal breath: an exhalation of heat expands space.
Unexpected twist: the Universe is not cooling but heating up. The horizon's thermal energy grows, spurring the outward rush. Thus, there's no need for a mysterious constant — the heat of its own boundaries is enough. Big Bang turns out not to be a push from the past, but the kindling heat of the present.
🎯 The temperature of the cosmic horizon is about 10⁻²⁹ Kelvin — billions of times colder than the coldest point ever created by humans.
🎬 Science fiction writers sometimes talk about a 'warm Universe' with an inner fire — here it gets a scientific basis.