A series of three scientific papers describing the expansion history of the Universe is telling a confusing tale, with predictions and measurements slightly disagreeing. (The papers can be accessed here: one, two, three.) While this disagreement isn’t considered a fatal disproof of modern cosmology, it could be a hint that our theories need to be revised…
While the new discrepancy in predictions and measurements of the clumpiness of the Universe are preliminary, it could be that both this measurement and the Hubble Tension imply that the Big Bang theory might need some tweaking. Mind you, the discrepancies do not rise to the level of scrapping the theory entirely; however, it is the nature of the scientific method to adjust theories to account for new observations.
– Fermilab senior scientist Don Lincoln
Okay, but we didn’t think the theory was to be scrapped entirely. The fact that it is in trouble is news, even if no one wants to discuss it.
Incidentally, high science never liked the Big Bang because of its theistic implications. But if a void replaces an unpopular theory, high science won’t like that either. Stay tuned.
Here’s Lincoln’s take from three years ago now: