A hint of new physics: The universe is expanding faster than scientists can explain.

Recent measurements of the universe's expansion rate have only added to the mystery of this process and heightened concerns among scientists, as they suggest that the current model of the cosmos may be incorrect and that there exists unknown physics. Observations indicate that galaxies are moving away from us at a faster rate than previously thought. The study is published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, reports Earth.

As early as 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble's observations revealed that the universe is not static but is expanding. Since then, physicists have continually sought to measure the precise rate of the universe's expansion, known as the Hubble constant.

Some researchers rely on data from nearby galaxies, while others look back to the early universe. Over time, various measurements have shown an existing conflict between these approaches, revealing that the expansion rate of the cosmos in the local universe differs from that in the early universe, a discrepancy that has come to be known as the Hubble problem.

When scientists compare how the universe appears at vast distances with how it looks in our own cosmic neighborhood, something doesn't add up. The standard cosmological model predicts a slower expansion rate than what measurements in the local universe indicate, which contradicts expectations. The authors of the new study believe that the standard cosmological model may be incorrect.

New observational data of the cosmos have allowed scientists to calculate a more accurate expansion rate of the universe. In particular, physicists utilized data from the galaxy cluster known as the Hair of Veronica. To determine how far this cluster is, they used the characteristics of light from type Ia supernovae found within the cluster.

Type Ia supernovae have a consistent brightness, which is directly related to distance. This makes them excellent tools for determining how far away objects are in space.

The researchers established that the Hair of Veronica galaxy cluster is located approximately 320 million light-years away from us. Using this and other observational data from the local universe, astrophysicists calculated a new value for the Hubble constant: 76.5 kilometers per second per megaparsec. This figure describes how quickly galaxies are receding from us at a distance of 3.26 million light-years.

This value for the Hubble constant aligns well with other measurements in the local universe, confirming that the nearby cosmos is expanding faster than the standard cosmological model predicts.

What exactly influences this faster expansion of the universe? Scientists believe that dark matter, dark energy, or perhaps yet unknown physics may be involved.