Monday, 15 April 2013

What is driving the expansion of the Universe?

As far as I understood it, no one really knows. It is observable that the universe is expanding with increasing speed, therefore there has to be a form of energy driving it. We can meassure (or at least try) the amount of energy and find $Omega_lambda = 69.11%$ (see $lambda$CDM-Model)



To your questions:



1: I wouldn't imagine it as Big Bang momentum, for it is also changing. After the Big Bang, there was (or at least had to be, to make our comological model work) a period of inflation, meaning rapid expansion, which then slowed down again. I can't think of an explanation which includes some kind of finite momentum.



2: On small scales (speaking of galaxies), where densities are high, expansion doesn't act. Gravity is working against it.



3: It is responsible for the expansion. How exactly is not understood. (Little personal comment form my side. If a physicist calls something 'dark', it mostly likely means it is not understood)

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