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The universe could be 26.7 billion years old, nearly twice the age generally accepted by scientists, according to a new study by a researcher at the University of Ottawa in Canada.
The proposed model also challenges two major pillars of modern cosmology by suggesting that the universe can be explained without dark matter and dark energy, two mysterious components widely used to account for its structure and expansion.
Rajendra Gupta, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Ottawa, and postdoctoral researcher Nikolaos Samaras have spent nearly two years testing their model, known as CCC+TL (Covarying Coupling Constants plus Tired Light), against major astronomical observations.
The model proposes that certain physical constants gradually change over time and that light loses energy as it travels through space. These processes, the researchers argue, could make distant cosmic objects appear older in terms of the time their light has taken to reach Earth, extending the estimated age of the universe to 26.7 billion years.
“Most emerging models explain only a limited set of observations,” Gupta said in a statement, adding that a new theory must remain consistent with the fundamental principles of cosmology and astrophysics.
In a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the researchers said their model successfully reproduced several important astronomical observations.
Computer simulations showed that it could predict the observed abundance of hydrogen and helium produced during the Big Bang while matching the historical expansion rate of the universe without requiring dark energy.
The researchers also reported that the model could explain the movements of stars and gas in 175 galaxies, a phenomenon commonly attributed to the gravitational influence of dark matter.
The theory could also offer an explanation for observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has detected surprisingly large and developed galaxies from the universe’s early history.
Under the proposed model, a significantly older universe would give these galaxies more time to form and evolve, potentially resolving the apparent mismatch between their development and their estimated ages.
Gupta said the findings should encourage astronomers to examine the alternative model more closely, although he acknowledged that it is challenging to understand and apply.
However, the proposal remains outside the mainstream scientific consensus. The standard cosmological model, known as Lambda-CDM, continues to explain a broad range of observations, while some aspects of the new research remain under review.
Independent verification by other researchers will be essential to establish whether the CCC+TL framework can consistently explain the universe’s observed properties.
Future observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, particularly searches for increasingly distant galaxies, could provide further opportunities to test the competing explanations.
