Dark Energy and EM/G unification.

[kenewbie]

What is the consensus out there on Dark Energy? Do we believe it exists or is it just a number that shows us how much our current calculations are off by?

If we were to unify EM and G, would getting rid of Dark Energy be a postulate for such a theory?

One could for example think of EM as being G, but at long ranges we imagine that the electron "disappears" (IE the electron's ability to interact with a proton goes down by E as the distance goes up) and so at large distances we are left with protons pushing each other away (The protons ability to interact with each other goes down with a number P which is lower than E).

Tweak the numbers so to speak and you can build a system which explains expansion while still being operational as it is today on a planet. It might even be possible to tune the numbers to show that the attraction of gravity in a "small system" like the Earth is simply a result of the uneven E/P strengths.

Has there been any calculations done which goes down this path? Without going into the actual math itself (which would be way above me), I'm wondering if the numbers pan out, and If they do, what are the arguments against such a view of the universe?

k

 

[lippyka]

The consensus is that dark energy does exist, and the evidence for it is strong. Scientists believe that dark energy is responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe, and this is supported by a variety of observations such as the cosmic microwave background and type Ia supernovae. Unifying EM and G would likely require a new postulate, but this would not necessarily mean getting rid of dark energy. The postulate would need to explain why there is a repulsive force between particles due to dark energy, and how this could be explained in terms of EM and G. This is an active area of research, and some physicists have proposed theories such as modified gravity models to explain dark energy. These theories attempt to explain dark energy as a modification of general relativity rather than a separate force.