Australian-American astrophysicist, Nobel laureate in Physics (2011) for the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae. His work led to the concept of dark energy.
Biography
Studied at the University of Arizona and Harvard. Worked at the Australian National University, leads the school of astronomy and astrophysics. Actively engaged in science popularization and winemaking.
Key discoveries
Discovery of the acceleration of the Universe's expansion (1998) from Type Ia supernova data
💡 In addition to astrophysics, Brian Schmidt enjoys winemaking and owns a winery in Australia.
Quote: "The Universe is not just expanding, it is expanding faster and faster, and we don't know what causes this acceleration."
The DESI survey examined the motion of galaxies and supernovae, testing the constancy of dark energy. Faint signals point to its evolution, and the Mirage model gave the best but not definitive result. If the energy is indeed growing, the Universe could face a tearing apart of matter.
It was previously thought that Type Ia supernovae were reliable 'standard candles' for measuring distances, their brightness independent of age. New research shows: old stars produce dimmer explosions. This distorts the cosmic ruler. Correcting for age removes the discrepancy, and the data leans tow
Analysis of galaxy maps, quasar light, and supernovae shows that the simple model of constant dark energy is losing to a version with a smoothly changing force. This needs verification, but it's intriguing.
Eight models of interaction between dark energy and dark matter fit observations better than the standard theory. Surprisingly, in the past, dark energy density could have been negative—like an energy debt in the dance. The finding refines the history of the expansion of the universe.
Scientists have long debated: is dark energy constant or does it change? Fresh measurements point to a third path — it is conversing with dark matter. This turns a lone cosmic force into a duet of invisible interlocutors.
Astronomers tested a model where dark energy is not a constant force, but a spring gradually losing its tension. The most surprising part: that same spring also explains dark matter, and all properties are set by fundamental theory without a single free parameter. Data from the DESI, Planck, and sup
What if the cosmic ocean expands unevenly? Using 1701 supernovae from Pantheon+, astrophysicists checked this and found a disturbing ripple — a dipole anisotropy in q0. But once they accounted for galaxies' peculiar velocities, the illusion almost dissolved. It's an artifact of our own drift, not ex
For a long time, dark energy was thought to be an unchanging force accelerating cosmic expansion. But the DESI instrument, by studying galaxy distributions, found that its influence has weakened by about 10% over billions of years. This undermines the foundations of the standard picture and paves th
The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Usually this is blamed on dark energy. But a new explanation is post-selection, a quantum trick where the future selects scenarios that suit it. This removes the mystery and explains why the acceleration started just now.