"Today, that concordance picture looks like a Universe presently expanding at a rate of ~70 km/s/Mpc, made of around 70% dark energy as a cosmological constant and 25% dark matter as non-interacting cold dark matter (with the remaining 5% being "normal" stuff), and forming black holes, stars, and galaxies from the normal matter in our Universe, under the gradual but relentless influence of gravity."
"However, many observations now compel us to question one or more of these facets of the Universe. When we combine cosmic microwave background (CMB), large-scale structure, supernova, and ultra-distant JWST data together, all the pieces don't necessarily fit together so nicely. It's possible that dark energy is evolving, sure, as many have hypothesized. But a new theory by Prof. Jonathan Tan, hypothesizing a novel, early population of supermassive stars, offers a fascinating alternative possibility."
Current concordance cosmology describes a Universe that underwent inflation, experienced a hot Big Bang, and is presently dominated by cold dark matter and a cosmological-constant dark energy, with roughly 70% dark energy, 25% dark matter, and 5% normal matter. Multiple high-precision datasets—CMB, large-scale structure, supernovae, and JWST observations—exhibit tensions when combined under the standard model. Proposed resolutions include evolving dark energy or modifications to cosmological assumptions. An alternative hypothesis invokes an early population of supermassive stars that could alter early-universe conditions and help reconcile disparate observational constraints.
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