Key Takeaways:
- Nobel laureate Roger Penrose posits that the universe undergoes cycles of Big Bangs and contractions, with a new Big Bang heralding the birth of a new universe.
- His theory, “conformal cyclic cosmology,” challenges the traditional Big Bang narrative and proposes that the universe’s demise leads to a new beginning.
- Penrose’s evidence includes “Hawking Points,” remnants of previous universes resembling dead black holes, and anomalous circular spots in the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
- Controversy surrounds his ideas due to the challenge of transitioning between infinitely large and extremely small universes while maintaining particle properties.
- Apart from cosmology, Penrose also delves into the quantum origins of consciousness, offering intriguing perspectives.
Renowned physicist Sir Roger Penrose, hailing from the University of Oxford and a co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, posits a fascinating theory regarding the universe’s cyclical nature. Contrary to prevailing notions, Penrose suggests that our universe has undergone numerous Big Bang events, with another impending in the future.
Penrose’s Nobel-winning contributions revolve around advancing mathematical frameworks that not only validate but also extend Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Moreover, his investigations into black holes elucidated the phenomenon of gravitational collapse, wherein excessively dense entities converge into singularities, infinitely massive points.
In his acceptance speech, Penrose reiterated his unconventional hypothesis, labeling it “conformal cyclic cosmology” (CCC). He envisages a scenario where the universe undergoes perpetual expansion until all matter eventually decays, culminating in a new Big Bang and the birth of a fresh universe.
Challenging the conventional narrative of a singular origin, Penrose asserts, “The Big Bang was not the beginning.” He contends that something predated this cosmic event and will manifest in our future.
What substantiates Penrose’s audacious proposition? He points to the discovery of six “warm” celestial phenomena dubbed “Hawking Points,” each roughly eight times larger than the Moon’s diameter. These enigmatic entities, named after the late Professor Stephen Hawking, derive from the notion that black holes emit radiation and ultimately dissipate. However, their longevity surpasses the current age of our universe, making their detection improbable.
Drawing on his collaboration with Hawking, Penrose speculates that these “dead” black holes are remnants of prior universes or “aeons.” If validated, this conjecture would not only bolster Hawking’s theories but also underscore the cyclical nature of cosmic evolution.
Penrose’s seminal paper, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2020, presents evidence of anomalous circular patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), characterized by elevated temperatures. These findings, sourced from the Planck 70 GHz satellite and validated through extensive simulations, offer compelling support for Penrose’s assertions.
His earlier work, dating back to 2018, identified radiation hotspots in the CMB, potentially attributable to evaporating black holes. Additionally, a collaborative effort in 2010 with Vahe Gurzadyan from the Yerevan Physics Institute proposed a cyclic cosmological model, citing uniform temperature rings within the CMB as signatures of gravitational waves from preceding universe collisions.
However, Penrose’s ideas provoke debate within the cosmological community. Critics highlight the challenges of reconciling an infinitely expansive universe in one aeon with a drastically contracted one in the next. Such transitions would necessitate fundamental alterations, such as particle mass loss, as the universe ages.
