The cosmological constant

 

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have been able to verify Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and that dark energy is what Einstein called a cosmological constant.

Einstein’s theory became the basis of modern astrophysics. He said that gravity is caused by the interaction of space and time on an object, and part of that theory was that empty space has energy.

Although Einstein abandoned the idea of the cosmological constant, which supported the idea of a constant universe, scientists have since observed the universe to expand, awakening interest in the theory.

The team of US scientists measured the dark energy by observing how galaxy clusters grow over time, but they also found that as the dark energy pushed out the boundaries of the universe, the formation of the clusters slowed and became less dense.

David Spergel, an astrophysicist at Princeton University, said that the results from the Chandra observatory agree with earlier findings and "suggest that Einstein is right."

"Putting all this data together gives us the strongest evidence yet that dark energy is the cosmological constant, or in other words, that 'nothing weighs something’. A lot more testing is needed, but so far Einstein's theory is looking as good as ever," added Alexey Vikhlinin of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

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