Entropic Gravity? No Dark Matter?

[Quartz]

This is the new theory of gravity, eliminating Dark Matter. Apparently. Can the Doper scientists please explain it for the less-educated?

Solution To Dark Matter Proposes That Gravity Is An Illusion

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.02269.pdf (pdf)

In this paper we provide evidence for the fact that the observed dark energy and
the phenomena currently attributed to dark matter have a common origin and are
connected to the emergent nature of spacetime and gravity.

[Chronos]

The idea of entropic gravity has been around for a while, though I’ve never seen any explanation for it that makes any sense. But this is the first I’ve heard that it can do away with dark matter and dark energy: That’d be quite a remarkable feat, given the wide variety of independent observations for both.

[Quartz]

I wasn’t aware that there were any actual observations of dark energy. I’m aware of observations of what is thought to be dark matter, but perhaps this paper provides an alternative explanation?

[Darren_Garrison]

@Quartz

I wasn’t aware that there were any actual observations of dark energy. I’m aware of observations of what is thought to be dark matter, but perhaps this paper provides an alternative explanation?

The evidence of dark energy is the observation that the rate of the universe’s expansion seems to be accelerating. I haven’t read the paper, but I don’t understand how there can be one force both holding close stuff together more strongly (dark matter) and pushing distant stuff apart more strongly (dark energy.)

[Quartz]

I must confess to being none the wiser.

[DSYoungEsq]

xkcd’s take

[Quartz]

Bump. This theory has passed its first real test. Sort of.