Universe May Be Twice As Old as Experts Thought — Not 13.8 But Possibly 26 Billion Years Old: New Study

Around two years ago, certain observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) about the universe stunned researchers. It indicated that massive galaxies had formed in just a few hundred million years. In a bid to explain these 'impossible' galaxies, a team of researchers incorporated multiple theories, which led them to discover that the universe is 26.7 billion years old. It is almost double the 13.7 billion years old, which was the universe's then-speculated age. Findings regarding these observations were published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The analysis utilized a 1929 theory by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky and coupling constants to get the updated age.

Theory of Tired Photons

The universe's age is calculated by monitoring light from stars possibly born just a couple of hundred million years after the Big Bang, according to Popular Mechanics. The observed light is stretched due to the expansion of the universe. This stretched state of light is called "redshift" by scientists. After considering the observed distance along with the universe's expansion, they determined the age to be 13.7 billion years. Researchers associated with the study believe that the photon in this light gets "tired" as it travels across massive distances. The theory was proposed in 1929 by Zwick and has been applied to light coming from old stars by a team of experts. Essentially, the team proposed that the photons from faraway astronomical objects are losing energy as they travel across billions of years.

The "redshift" of light was not happening due to the expansion of the universe, but also due to photons losing energy. It means that the universe did not need to expand at the pace previously calculated to produce the "redshift" that has been observed by astronomers. The universe could be slower in its expansion, taking more time, implying that the universe is much older than previous examinations suggested. Along with the "tired" photon theory, the experts also incorporated the concept of "coupling constants" in their readings. 

Concept of Coupling Constants

Experts define coupling constants as fundamental properties that govern the interactions between particles in the universe, according to Phys.org. In the early readings, these constants were believed to have remained the same across the distance covered by incoming light. This analysis, though, considers them to be evolving. Some of these constants are, namely, the speed of light and gravitational strength. This change allows researchers to extend the timeframe behind the formation of early galaxies from a few hundred million years to several billion years.

Extending the timeframe will help experts account for the development and mass JWST has observed in six ancient galaxies. Researchers were unable to fathom how so much development could have happened in three hundred million years. The coupling constants increase the time to several billion years, which would account for the advanced stage. The incorporation of these two principles compounds the universe's age to  26.7 billion years.

Uncertainty of the proposed theory

Other scientists are still hesitant to accept the proposal, even though it solves the conundrum of the "impossible early galaxy problem," according to Astronomy Magazine. There are several phenomena that the proposal has yet to explain. Many light elements, astronomical clusters, voids, and filaments are yet to be accounted for by the model. Furthermore, the proposal has introduced many concepts that need further analysis. The biggest query that the proposed solution is yet to solve is the age of faraway galaxies. The impossible galaxies, despite being massive, look young. Even though the model showcases why galaxies are so large, their vitality has gone unexplained.