Big Rip: How did the universe begin, and how could it collapse?

Big Rip and the question: Brief information related to physical cosmology

Physical cosmology is a branch of astrophysics, which provides an explanation of large-scale structures and dynamics of our universe. This has raised questions about the origin, evolution, ultimate fate, and structure of the universe in which fundamental laws of physics are applicable. It also provides constructive bases of Newtonian mechanics that are governed by physical laws.

Physical cosmology utilizes a combination of theory and experiments, which enable cosmologists to research cosmological models that describe the structure of the universe, which underwent considerable changes after it began. In addition, cosmology is based on advances from various scientific disciplines, including plasma physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, relativity and particle physics. The background of modern-day cosmology began with the discovery in the early 15^th century by Nicolaus Copernicus who proposed Earth and other planets orbit around the Sun.   

After Nicolaus Copernicus provided an idea about how celestial bodies orbit around massive objects in the universe, Isaac Newton, in the late 16^th century, worked on a gravitational rule that describes how objects in the vast universe behave. In which gravitational force has attracted the celestial bodies to the centre of the mass, which is known as Newton’s law of universal Gravitation.

According to Newton’s law of Gravitation, all objects in the universe experience a force of attraction with all objects with mass, and the strength of this force varies based on the mass of objects and the distance between them highlighted by the equation F_g= G m1 m2/ r^2. Where F= Force, G= Gravitational Constant, m1= mass of object 1, m2= mass of object 2, and r= distance between centres of the masses.  

However, modern-day cosmology began after Albert Einstein, in the 20^th century, came up with the theory of relativity, which provides an idea regarding the space-time model. Due to the emergence of Einstein’s theory of relativity, it was added a new spectrum to modern science, which could open up new ideas, which are surrounded by dark matter, dark energy, and Big Bang cosmology, along with the formation and evolution of the large structure of the universe.

Many theoretical physicists stated that the universe has come to its actual shape after the Big Bang, which has so far established the idea that the universe is expanding.   However, how the universe will end is the biggest question that is yet to be answered by scientists. Hence, in recent times, many hypothetical cosmological models like the Big Rip hypothesis might explain how the universe will end.   

Big Rip Cosmological Model

Physical cosmology has led to the new idea, which is surrounded by the Big Rip, which is a hypothetical cosmological model regarding the ultimate destiny of the universe that might torn apart due to rapid expansion. Until the distance between objects increases infinitely, the stars, galaxies, atoms and subatomic particles will progressively torn apart because of the expansion and possibility that this event could occur at a certain time in future. The standard model of cosmology indicates that the scale factor of the universe is accelerating and, in future periods of cosmological constant dominance, will upsurge exponentially during Big Rip.

With the spontaneous, accelerating expansion of the universe, the Big Rip model helps cosmologists to predict that our universe will ultimately stretch a limit where the matter will be deconstructed and the gravitational force that bound objects together will, therefore, be ripped apart the fabric of space-time. The fundamental aspects that correlate with Big  Rip theory find their roots in the concept of Dark Energy, which makes up around 70 per cent of our  Universe.

Many theoretical physicists suggest that Dark Energy causes the rapid expansion of massive objects in our universe, inducing pulsars, neutron stars, black holes and pulsars. Famous physicist Albert Einstein mentioned the term which is known as cosmological constant. By doing so, he signifies the possibility that even empty space has energy.

Einstein also thought that the universe is static, and he acknowledged the repulsive force upholds the shape of the universe. On the other hand, Edwin Hubble illustrates through his research that the universe was expanding, which indicates that it is not static. However, new data from Hubble might establish that Einstein’s thoughts towards a static universe might be right to a certain extent. The gravitational force that binds objects together in the universe, along with a repulsive force of dark energy, have been cancelling each other since the inception of the universe.

As the universe has undergone expansion, matter, which is identified to be a fundamental source of gravity, has expanded. Besides, unstable dark energy might cause a Big Rip or a Big Crunch (which indicates that the universe could compressed). Many cosmologists stated that about 70 per cent of our universe is comprised of dark energy, 25 per cent of the universe consists of dark matter, and only 4 per cent of our  Universe is observable, which is contrasted via normal matter. According to Hubble, dark energy could be Einstein’s cosmological constant, which highlights the repulsive force of gravity pushing the objects in the universe apart.

What does the Big Crunch Theory indicate?   

Big Crunch is another hypothetical cosmological model, which indicates that all matter in the universe collapses to a singularity, and the expansion of the universe ultimately reverses. Some speculated that once the universe compacted into infinity, a small point referring to singularity caused the cosmic scale factor to reach zero, and this event could followed by a recreation of the universe with another Big Bang.

However, ample evidence shows that the Big Crunch Hypothesis is not appropriate as it contradicts the idea of Big Bang cosmology. The ongoing contradiction regarding the ultimate fate of the universe raises many questions that are yet to be answered by cosmologists. This might lead to the establishment of a sophisticated theory, which might provide a better outlook regarding how the universe could end.    

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