Supernovae twins open possibilities for precision cosmology

摘要

Cosmologists have found a way to double the accuracy of measuring distances to supernova explosions - one of their tried -and-true tools for studying the mysterious dark energy that is making the universe expand faster and faster. The findings could help researchers enhance dark energy experiments at major telescopes. The results from the Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory) collaboration, led by Greg Aldering, of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), will enable scientists to study dark energy with greatly-improved precision and accuracy, and provide a powerful crosscheck of the technique across vast distances and time. The findings will also be central to major upcoming cosmology experiments that will use new ground and space telescopes to test alternative explanations of dark energy.