Scientists discover mysterious 'twin' could be behind rapid expansion of the universe

The universe is expanding at a rapid rate and scientists don’t really know why – but one expert has a compelling theory, and it concerns a mysterious 'twin’.

One possible explanation as to why the fabric of the universe is growing was posited by Naman Kumar, who is a PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology.

According to the theory put across in the new papers published by Kumar in Gravitation and Cosmology and Europhysics Letters, our universe might be linked to another.

To comprehend the theory, first we must look all the way back to the earliest stages of the universe, when all that existed with an amorphous mass of subatomic particles.

Then, we must delve into the idea of the quantum phenomenon of matter generation. In that context, virtual particles could begin to exist - albeit as part of a complex partnership.

Could a multiverse explain rapid expansion?iStock

So, according to this way of thinking, when one little piece of matter was formed back then, so was a twin piece of anti-matter.

Kumar suggests that this could have resulted in the formation of one universe, and one anti universe.

While this sounds like the work of science fiction, theories around multiverses have been widely discussed in the scientific community before.

If the theory is correct, it would mean that our universe sparked into life at the same time as a 'twin' acting as an opposite to our own. The relationship and involvement between the pair would result in the radius of both expanding rapidly.

Kumar wrote: "After working on the problems of dark matter and dark energy, I can say that either we accept that general relativity is correct and we live in a dark universe with these elusive and peculiar dark matter particles and dark energy, or we accept that we live in a higher dimensional multiverse," Kumar explains in his ScienceX dialog."

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