Lab-based experiments narrow down the search for dark energy
A new experiment, tracking the motion of single atoms, has failed to detect a fifth fundamental force — placing important constraints on the nature of dark energy.
A table-top in a London basement may seem like an unlikely place to test for one of the most elusive and mysterious elements of cosmology. But, this is exactly where a team of researchers has managed to place important constraints on the properties of dark energy.
Dark energy, the mysterious force that acts in opposition to the force of gravity — driving the expansion of the universe — remains tantalisingly out of touch for researchers. But, the experiment in question, set about to test one of the more popular theories of dark energy.
Since its inception, some physicists have proposed that dark energy is a ‘fifth’ fundamental force that acts on matter, beyond the four already known — gravitational, electromagnetic, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.
These same proposals suggest that this fifth force may be ‘screened’ or ‘hidden’ for large objects like planets or weights on Earth. Thus, making it difficult to detect. This ‘screening’ effect is the necessary addition to Einstein’s theory of…
