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Solving an enduring mystery
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There isn’t enough evidence yet to declare a groundbreaking discovery that definitively says dark energy is evolving and weakening, but that could change within just a couple of years, Ishak-Boushak said.
“My first big question is if we will continue to see evidence for evolving dark energy as our measurements get better and better,” Martini said. “If we do get to the point where the evidence is overwhelming, then my next questions will be: How does dark energy evolve? And what are the most likely physical explanations?”
The new data release could also help astrophysicists better understand how galaxies and black holes evolve and the nature of dark matter. Although dark matter has never been detected, it is believed to make up 85% of the total matter in the universe.
Scientists involved with the collaboration are eager to improve their measurements using DESI.
“Whatever the nature of dark energy is, it will shape the future of our universe,” said Michael Levi, DESI director and a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “It’s pretty remarkable that we can look up at the sky with our telescopes and try to answer one of the biggest questions that humanity has ever asked.”
A new experiment called Spec-S5, or Stage 5 Spectroscopic Experiment, could measure more than 10 times as many galaxies as DESI to study both dark energy and dark matter, Martini said.