Calculations in a new study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK could help to explain whether dark energy - as required by Einstein's theory of general relativity - or a revised theory of gravity are responsible. Einstein's theory, which describes gravity as distortions of space and time, included a mathematical element known as a Cosmological Constant. Without dark energy, the acceleration implies a failure of Einstein's theory of gravity across the largest distances in our universe. If however, their speed differs from that of light, then Einstein's theory must be revised. Such an experiment could be carried out by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US, whose twin detectors, 2000 miles apart, directly detected gravitational waves for the first time in 2015.

Source: dna February 12, 2017 11:26 UTC