Einstein's blunder helps Indian
scientist discover age of universe
PUNE, INDIA: In an effort to determine the fate of the
universe, an Indian scientist is taking the help of a
theory which was once discarded by Albert Einstein, who later
admitted that it was the ``biggest blunder'' of his life.
After the discovery of the theory of relativity, Einstein
introduced a mathematical term called `cosmological
constant' (which represents an imaginary force to counter
gravity) in his theory, so that equations can fit into a
static universe.
But when the universe was found to be expanding, Einstein
said the ``constant'' was his ``biggest blunder'' as it
prevented him from predicting the expansion.
After almost eighty years, Varun Sahni at the Inter University
Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) here is
resurrecting this long-forgotten idea in a modern guise to
answer a fundamental question -- what is the fate of the
universe?
The answer lies with a hypothetical parameter called omega
that is related to the total mass of the universe. If the
value of omega is one,the universe is considered ``flat''.
If it exceeds the critical value of one, the universe will
collapse after about 100 billion years but if the value is
less than one, the universe will go on expanding forever.
However, studies showed the total amount of matter present
in the universe could not account for a omega value greater
than 0.2, which indicates an ever expanding universe.
In order to ``balance the books'' in favour of a flat
universe, Sahni reintroduced the concept of cosmological
constant with a ``non-zero value'' which helps maintain an
exactly critical value of omega.
According to the theory, cosmological constant is not an
imaginary force but exists in reality.
``It is an unusual form of energy that produces particles
out of vacuum,'' Sahni said.
These numerous particles created out of nothing account for
the remaining value of the omega, thereby making the
universe flat, he said.
The theory was published recently in the journal Physical
Review Letters.
Experimentalevidences also support the theory. By observing
about 30 supernovae -- stars that suddenly burst into
brilliance -- an international team of astronomers led by S
Perlmutter from the Lawrence Berkley University in USA has
found that the cosmological constant has a non-zero value,
as predicted by Sahni.
The findings could help fix the age of universe too, Sahni
added.
-Rajesh.
_____Algebra is generous; she often gives more than is asked of her______
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