August 2, 2020
Barking up the wrong tree, as the saying goes, concludes the common plummet in endorsing the most fallacious of theories and the most irrational of hypotheses. However, this mentality did not constrain the plentitude of astrophysicists, and enthusiasts who have championed the most plausible of theories to explain the impending end of the universe. With origins in the Theory of Relativity, the Rip, Crunch, Freeze, and False Vacuum hypotheses all propose how the Universe may one day come to an end.
For exhaustive periods of time, Albert Einstein often vouched with conviction that the universe functioned with “static and infinite” natures. Yet, as more investigations were pursued, many managed to debunk the hypothesized statement and instead discovered that the universe, in actuality, expands at an accelerating rate. The gradual expansion of the universe seems to suggest that the universe started off small, coinciding further with the theory that the Big Bang’s occurrence pronounced the beginning of time.
Einstein’s statement was further impugned, as Big Bang’s CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) depicted the remnant luminances of the Big Bang, indicating the existence of leftover radiation and heat.
Though Einstein’s argument for the expansion of the universe proved false, his theory that the gravity of objects curve and warp spacetime formed the foundations for these 4 theories. From here, the rationale of the four theories began to form, beginning with the Big Rip.
The Big Rip
As a consequence of Dark Energy, the Big Rip hypothesizes that with the expansion of the universe, its increasing volatility will eventually overwhelm the amount of gravitational force occupying the universe and hence, cause all of the universe’s constituents to decay, leaving it as individually disconnected atoms. Expected to occur within the next 22 billion years, various scientists have also identified that galaxies are most likely to experience surges in expansion. As with the unprecedented and equally volatile natures of dark energy, the magnetic and strong nuclear force maintaining the attraction of protons and neutrons within the center of the atom will eventually be dispersed and galaxies disassembled.
With dark energy’s assumed erratic nature, scientists have only been able to sufficiently conclude that in the instance that the Big Rip were to occur, the strength of dark energy would overwhelm the entirety of the universe and that paralyze all its forces of attraction. The process is assumed to begin with the dismounting of galaxies, to solar systems, to planets from their stars, the stars themselves, to strengthened electromagnetic forces, and finally to the nuclei of atoms, until they are entirely detached from one another. Marcelo Disconzi, an assistant professor of mathematics at Vanderbilt University, has proposed a newfound model that deduces cosmological “stickiness” or viscosity as the primary cause of the universe’s hypothesized rip.
Disconzi proposed that cosmological viscosity (resistance of a fluid to expansion) would subsequently impose a constraint on the highly volatile and unstable properties of dark matter (particularly its density and pressure). As a consequence, dark matter would function erratically, leading to the disassembly of components to elementary particles. With Disconzi’s theory, the Big Rip theory harmoniously combines both notions of “dark energy” and “cosmological viscosity,” wherein relativistic fluids intervene with dark energy’s equilibrated ratio between density and pressure and engendering its out-of-control spiral.
The Big Crunch
Directly contesting the hypotheses of the Big Rip theory, the Big Crunch sees the end of our universe in a different way. The Big Crunch, proposed by French mathematician André Lichnerowicz, prompted that instead of the universe’s infinitely accelerated expansion, the universe will eventually halt its expansion and collapse or diminish its size, with gravitational force becoming increasingly dominant. The theory further suggests that the sporadic contraction of the universe’s expansion will cause it to withdraw entirely, pulling all of the universe’s constituents into a highly dense and compact shrinkage, as galaxies and systems perpetually collide within the black hole’s formation.
Furthermore, with the continuum of explosions and disassembling of the universe’s constituents all within one highly compressed region, the convulsions are assumed to most likely surpass the maximum value of the universe’s critical density, and hence result into its calamitous collapse. The inference by Lichnerowicz ultimately concluded that the theory vouches for the understanding of how the gravitational force of attraction will ultimately champion as the dominant force as the universe experiences its shrivelling into a compact state.
However, one of the discrepancies of this theory is its complete negligence to integrate plausibility on the intrusion of dark energy. Dark energy functioning as a constant entity (while also corroborated by scientists to be of significantly increasing strength) is completely disregarded from this theory, as it invests in the idea that no other external forces are perturbing the outward momentum of the universe since the Big Bang. Several Danish researchers have even proposed a plausible explanation to this impending phenomenon, with insinuations to how the “phase transition” or subtle conversions of the universe’s shrinkage is currently occurring.
The “phase transition” aspect endorsed by the researchers was further employed to corroborate that the universe is covertly experiencing conversions or transitions between phases, similar to water’s property to evaporate. Within this transition, it is presumed that invisible substances will occupy a domain referred to as “Higgs Field.” Suppose in the instance, the Higgs Field is overwhelmingly dense, a bubble-like entity is assumed for formation, wherein its expansion will ultimately exceed light speed and wallop the entire universe synchronously. Yet, as the theory continues to remain incapable of assimilating the constraint imposed by dark energy (having comprised 70% of space’s energy), it unavailingly remains as the less prevailing theory in elucidating the universe’s end.
The Big Freeze
In imposing rivalry to the two preceding theories, the Big Freeze itself hypothesizes an equally intriguing and valid theory to elucidate the impending terminus of the universe. The Big Freeze, alternatively recognized as “Heat Death,” prompts the idea that the universe’s constituents and other isolated systems will have its entropy subjected to maximum value in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. Once achieved, temperature and heat will be distributed in an equal manner throughout the universe, causing no allocated room for usable energy or heat to exist. In simplicity, the entire universe is deprived of any mechanical motion due to the fact that heat has been distributed equally.
In contradiction to the Big Crunch, the Big Freeze theory imposes a cold ending to our universe, wherein the result of heat and temperature deprivation is the decay and disintegration of all constituents into minuscule particles and radiation, from stars to blackholes and systems of all sorts. With the vastness of the universe, the distribution of gas would be of such thin quality that it would remain insufficient for stars and other such constituents to form. Scientists have also further corroborated this theory by prompting that if the universe’s density were to be valued less than the maximum density value within the “critical density” threshold, the universe will inevitably be subjected to collapse.
To support this proposal further, several scientists have analyzed depictions retrieved by the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe), which recognizes cosmic microwave background radiation. From these signals, the CMBR recognizes the existence of a density which surpasses the lower spectra of the values in the critical density threshold, and hence the prevalence of the Big Freeze theory prevails once again. The lack of differentiations within heat aligned with the cosmological constant of dark energy becomes instrumental in the existence of the Big Freeze phenomenon. With particles decaying into radiation, all mechanical motion will cease to exist with scarcely any energy remaining.
False Vacuum
There are, however, other corresponding enthusiasts who claim otherwise and invest with conviction the fallacious natures of all three plausible phenomena. With closest proximity to the Big Crunch, the theory employs the similar existence of the “phase transition” of which it references to our universe as a bubble-like entity and constituent of which will inevitably collide, merge, and impact intensively with other “bubble universes” and hence, effectively terminating our universe as the spontaneous mobilization would dismantle everything.
So where do we go from here? Well, albeit this theory extends to other theoretical facets of astronomy and astrophysics, it dabbles rather too closely in the notion of multiverses and the false sense of stability with our contemporary universe. With the rip, crunch, freeze, and false vacuum theories, this does not deduce the possibilities of our universe’s conclusion, yet broadens it to other horizons and is opening doors to further revelations.
Works Cited
Bartels, Meghan. “A Rare Kind of Black Hole May Be Wandering Around Our Milky Way.” Space.com, Space, 16 Jan. 2019, www.space.com/43024-rare-black-hole-in-milky-way.html. Accessed August 4, 2020
Becker, Adam. “Earth - How Will the Universe End, and Could Anything Survive?” BBC, BBC, 2 June 2015, www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150602-how-will-the-universe-end. Accessed August 2, 2020
Cendes, Yvette. “How Will The Universe End?” Discover Magazine, Discover Magazine, 24 May 2020, www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-will-the-universe-end. Accessed August 2, 2020
Temperton, James. “Big Rip: How the Universe Could Tear Itself to Shreds.” WIRED UK, WIRED UK, 4 Oct. 2017, www.wired.co.uk/article/big-rip-end-of-the-universe. Accessed August 2, 2020
Villanueva, John Carl. “The Big Crunch: The End of Our Universe?” Universe Today, 2 Mar. 2020, www.universetoday.com/37018/big-crunch/. Accessed August 2, 2020
Villanueva, John Carl. “What Is the Big Freeze?” Universe Today, 2 Mar. 2020, www.universetoday.com/36917/big-freeze/. Accessed August 2, 2020
Woollaston, Victoria. “A Big Freeze, Rip or Crunch: How Will the Universe End?” WIRED UK, WIRED UK, 10 Oct. 2016, www.wired.co.uk/article/how-will-universe-end. Accessed August 2, 2020
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