German researchers at the University of Bremen, together with Romanian colleagues at the University of Brașov, have proposed a theory suggesting that “dark energy” might not be a separate, mysterious substance at all.
Dark energy is usually invoked to explain why the universe is expanding at an ever‑increasing rate. In this new approach, however, the team uses an extended form of Einstein’s theory (known as Finsler gravity) to show that cosmic acceleration could arise naturally from gravity itself. In their view, the very geometry of spacetime may be responsible for the universe’s speed‑up.
The researchers’ approach modifies the mathematical foundation of cosmology. In the traditional Einstein-Friedmann model, cosmic acceleration cannot occur without inserting an additional term representing dark energy. But when the team replaced general relativity with Finsler gravity, the modified Finsler-Friedmann equations naturally predicted an accelerating universe, even in the absence of dark energy.
That’s a real breakthrough. I had tried Ainsler, Binsler, Cinsler, Dinsler, and Einsler gravities and got nowhere.