Research results have been published that cast doubt on the premise of modern cosmology that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate driven by a mysterious energy. A re-analysis of observational data from exploding stars indicated the possibility that the expansion of the universe as a whole is slowing down, rather than accelerating.
〜に疑問を投げかける= to cast doubt on / to raise questions about〜どころか= far from / rather than (indicates the reality is opposite to expectations)
When investigating the speed of cosmic expansion, a method is used to estimate distance from the brightness of Type Ia supernovas—which are explosions of white dwarfs—and redshift, where the wavelength of light stretches. A team led by Professor Emeritus Subir Sarkar focused on the tendency for supernovas to appear dimmer in galaxies where the pre-explosion stars are younger. Because assuming originally dim supernovas to be brighter than they actually are leads to overestimating distance, they corrected data from 1,550 supernovas according to stellar age. As a result, the expansion trend common across all directions showed deceleration, and the possibility emerged that the acceleration observed in specific directions is an effect of the movement of Earth and the galaxy itself.
〜ほど= the more [A], the more [B] (proportional relationship)〜に応じて= in accordance with / depending on
On the other hand, objections to these research results have been raised by other researchers. Phil Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Southampton argue that if the conventional brightness corrections based on galaxy mass are applied, the correlation with stellar age disappears, and the evidence for accelerating expansion remains solid. While acknowledging that the debate continues, Sarkar and his team plan to proceed with further verification using large volumes of observational data from future large observatories.
〜つつ= while doing V / while acknowledging that...
Learning Notes
Grammar Patterns
Pattern
Meaning
〜に疑問を投げかける
to cast doubt on / to raise questions about
〜どころか
far from / rather than (indicates the reality is opposite to expectations)
〜ほど
the more [A], the more [B] (proportional relationship)
〜に応じて
in accordance with / depending on
〜つつ
while doing V / while acknowledging that...
Vocabulary
Word
Reading
Level
Meaning
加速
かそく
N2
acceleration;speeding up
推定
すいてい
N2
presumption;assumption
膨張
ぼうちょう
N1
expansion;swelling;increase;growth
前提
ぜんてい
N1
condition;assumption;prerequisite;hypothesis
着目
ちゃくもく
N1
attention;giving one's attention;focusing
異論
いろん
N1
different opinion;objection
従来
じゅうらい
N1
up to now;so far
減速
げんそく
deceleration
補正
ほせい
correction;revision;compensation (e.g. to a pendulum)
検証
けんしょう
verification;confirmation;substantiation
Language Insights
•Type Ia supernovas are often referred to as 'standard candles' in astronomy because their intrinsic luminosity is relatively uniform, making them key tools for measuring cosmological distances.
•The concept of dark energy driving accelerated expansion won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics; challenging this paradigm requires rigorous statistical re-analysis of large datasets.