A group of scientists from Switzerland and the UK have investigated how dark energy affects star formation and, consequently, the possibility of intelligent life in the Universe. Their study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in November 2024, analyzes how variations in dark energy could affect the number of stars formed in our Universe and hypothetical other universes.
Dark energy is a mysterious force that is believed to be causing the universe to expand at an accelerated rate. Although it is not part of the Drake equation, which is used to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations, dark energy directly affects star formation and, therefore, the possibility of life. Researchers have found that an ideal universe for life would have a dark energy density that is only one-tenth that observed in our universe. In such a scenario, 27% of ordinary matter would be converted into stars, compared to 23% in our universe.
The study also confirmed the hypothesis of Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, who in the 1980s proposed that too high a density of dark energy would prevent the formation of galaxies and, therefore, the emergence of life. As part of the multiverse model, the researchers calculated that 99,5% of other universes have a higher density of dark energy than ours. This means that our universe is one of the rare ones in which intelligent observers could have appeared.
The work adds a new dimension to the anthropic principle, which explains the properties of the universe in terms of the conditions necessary for life to exist. Scientists hope that further research will help to unravel the nature of dark energy and its connection to the emergence of intelligent life.
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