SYDNEY, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have compiled the most comprehensive catalogue of exploding white dwarf stars, offering new clues about dark energy, the mysterious force driving the universe's accelerating expansion.
Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have led a global effort to compile a dataset containing information on 2,884 Type Ia supernovae, which are used to measure cosmic distances, providing new evidence that dark energy may change over time rather than remain constant, according to a UQ statement released Tuesday.
Combining three decades of astronomical observations into a single framework, the project provides a new global benchmark in supernova cosmology and a clearer picture of how the universe has expanded over time, said UQ PhD candidate Ryan Camilleri.
Researchers reanalyzed historic observations about supernovae using modern techniques, accounting for factors including cosmic dust, galaxy mass and gravitational lensing, which can affect supernova light reaching Earth.
The team combined the data with other cosmic measurements, including relic light from the Big Bang and maps of galaxy distributions.
"Instead of confirming the standard model of cosmology, which assumes dark energy is fixed and unchanging, we have more evidence that dark energy may change over time," Camilleri said.
The researchers said the results, together with independent findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, have found hints of time variation in dark energy, challenging the standard model that dark energy doesn't change.
Future surveys, including the Dark Energy Bedrock All-Sky Supernova program, will add hundreds more supernovae to the dataset, according to researchers. ■
