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New Dark-Energy Model Predicts a Big Crunch, Citing DES and DESI Data

A peer-reviewed model using DES and DESI data argues dark energy now yields a negative cosmological constant, implying an eventual recollapse.

DESI maps distant objects to study dark energy. The instrument is installed on the Mayall Telescope, shown here beneath star trails.
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Overview

  • Cornell physicist Henry Tye and collaborators report calculations that the universe will reach maximum size in about 11 billion years before contracting.
  • The study, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, analyzes recent Dark Energy Survey and DESI measurements.
  • The model introduces an ultralight particle that behaved like a cosmological constant early on but now produces dynamics consistent with a negative value.
  • The scenario implies a total cosmic lifetime of roughly 33 billion years, with a collapse about 20 billion years from now if the model is correct.
  • The results challenge the standard Lambda‑CDM framework, with continued DESI observations and upcoming data from Euclid, SPHEREx, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory expected to test the claim.