A new theory by Dr. Richard Lieu, a physics professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, offers a bold idea that could change how we understand the universe.
In his paper published in Classical and Quantum Gravity, Dr. Lieu suggests that the cosmos didn’t just begin with a single Big Bang but has experienced many sudden “bursts” over time.
These bursts, or “transient temporal singularities,” might explain why the universe is expanding without needing mysterious things like dark matter or dark energy.
For years, scientists have believed that dark matter helps galaxies form and hold together, while dark energy causes the universe to expand faster and faster.
But despite many efforts, no one has actually found either one. Dr. Lieu’s new model proposes we may not need them at all.
The idea builds on earlier research that imagined gravity could exist even without mass.
In this updated version, the universe’s expansion and structure could be explained by these step-like bursts of energy and matter that happen briefly but affect all of space at once.
These events are extremely fast and rare, which is likely why we haven’t seen them. Still, they could be powerful enough to explain the same things dark matter and dark energy are supposed to.
Interestingly, this model doesn’t rely on unusual or exotic ideas like “negative mass,” which would be difficult to support scientifically.
Instead, the bursts naturally create what is called “negative pressure,” a kind of energy that pushes outward—similar to what scientists believe dark energy does. Albert Einstein once described something similar in his work on the Cosmological Constant in 1917.
Dr. Lieu explains that while the standard Big Bang model relies on one massive event at the start of time, his model involves multiple such singularities spread out over time.
Each burst fills the universe with energy and matter briefly, and then disappears.
Between these bursts, there is nothing extra—no dark matter or dark energy hanging around. That’s why they seem to be missing when we look for them.
This idea also avoids breaking the laws of physics, especially the rule that energy cannot just appear out of nowhere.
Because these bursts come and go so quickly, and don’t last, they may not violate any known laws.
And that could explain why our current models keep pointing to invisible ingredients in the universe—perhaps we’re just missing the real picture.
As for proving the idea, Dr. Lieu believes it may be possible using powerful ground-based telescopes rather than relying on space observatories like the James Webb Telescope.
He hopes astronomers can use instruments like the Keck Observatory in Hawaii or the Isaac Newton Telescopes in Spain to examine distant parts of the universe in more detail.
By studying how the light from faraway galaxies stretches over time (a measurement called redshift), scientists may find unusual jumps in data that could hint at these hidden bursts. If they do, it would open a new chapter in our understanding of the universe—one without dark matter or dark energy.
Source: University of Alabama in Huntsville.
