What if the universe is not 13.8 billion years old, and dark matter and dark energy are not real components of the cosmos? An alternative theory proposes this by putting the universe’s age at 26.7 billion years and explaining cosmic observations through changing fundamental constants. 

In a new study, researchers at the University of Ottawa have proposed this unconventional picture, which challenges some of modern physics’ biggest assumptions.

The theory, called covarying coupling constants plus tired light (CCC+TL), proposes that fundamental constants governing physical interactions change together over cosmic time. 

These changes could produce effects that scientists currently attribute to dark matter and dark energy. 

However, replacing the standard cosmological model, known as Lambda–Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM), requires more than explaining unusual galaxies. An alternative must also reproduce the evidence from the universe’s earliest moments.

One of the strongest tests comes from Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), the process through which the first light elements formed during the universe’s first few minutes. As the hot universe expanded and cooled, nuclear reactions produced hydrogen, helium, deuterium, and small amounts of lithium.

The predicted abundances of these elements are among the standard model’s most important observational checks. A different expansion history could change how quickly the universe cooled, and how much time nuclear reactions had to occur.

In our study, “we investigate whether Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) remains compatible with the covarying coupling constants plus tired light (CCC+TL) cosmology,” said the researchers. 

Their calculations used a feature of the model called a universal scaling function, which describes how physical quantities with dimensions, such as length, change over cosmic time.

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