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Cosmology

Density and destiny

Nature volume 391, pages 23–24 (1998)Cite this article

Will the Universe perpetually expand, or eventually collapse? Is space flat, or curved? On page 51 of this issue, Perlmutter et al.1 report observations of the explosion of a star so distant that its demise preceded the birth of our planet — observations that begin to answer these grand questions, and promise a final answer soon.

If we inhabit a nice, simple Universe, the destiny of the Universe is determined by its density. The present expansion is being decelerated by gravity, at a rate governed only by the average density of matter, ΩM. If ΩM < 1, space is negatively curved (like a saddle), and will expand for ever. ΩM > 1 means positive curvature (like a sphere) and eventual collapse. ΩM = 1 is supreme simplicity: space is flat and expansion slows asymptotically towards zero.

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Figure 1: The furthest supernova.

SAUL PERLMUTTER

References

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  1. the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73019, Oklahoma, USA

    David Branch

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  1. David Branch
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Branch, D. Density and destiny. Nature 391, 23–24 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/34048

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