Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Cosmology and gravitation research aims to understand the universe as a whole: how it began, how it has expanded over nearly 14 billion years, and what physical laws govern its large-scale structure. Scientists piece together this picture by measuring signals such as the cosmic microwave background — the faint thermal echo of the early universe — alongside the distribution of galaxies, the brightness of distant supernovae, and subtle acoustic imprints in matter called baryon acoustic oscillations. A central puzzle is the nature of dark energy, the unknown component that appears to be driving the universe's accelerating expansion and that accounts for roughly 70 percent of its total energy budget. Tension between independent measurements of the Hubble constant — the rate at which the universe is expanding today — has prompted serious scrutiny of whether Einstein's general relativity needs to be modified, or whether entirely new physics beyond the standard cosmological model is required.

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Keywords

Cosmological ParametersDark EnergyCosmic Microwave BackgroundInflationModified GravitySupernovae