Our Universe Was Born With 'Anti-Universe' Twin, Claims Physicist

The universe may have been born out of nothing, with an "anti-universe" twin where time runs in the opposite direction—rather than exploding from an infinitely small and dense point, or "singularity." This is the conclusion of physicist Naman Kumar of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and, if correct, it could have implications for our understanding of mysteries like the nature of dark matter and dark energy. "In my model, I propose that our universe did not arise from a classical singularity, but instead emerged from a Euclidean phase through quantum mechanics," Kumar wrote. "The essence of the idea is that two branches—a universe and its time-reverse anti-universe—are created simultaneously."

Many models of cosmic creation seek to dodge the sticky problem of the initial singularity—at which our current understanding of physics would go out the window. Theoretical physicists James Hartle and Stephen Hawking, for example, proposed that rather than having a strict beginning as we would understand it, the universe evolved out of a "no-boundary" state in which time and space were intertwined. Alexander Vilenkin, meanwhile, has suggested that the universe instead emerged spontaneously from a state of nothingness via a strange quantum mechanics phenomenon known as quantum tunneling. According to Kumar, however, neither of these models quite explains the birth of the universe as we now observe it. "A key element missing from these approaches is the incorporation of a mechanism that naturally accounts for a flat universe," the physicist said. "In classical cosmology, spatial curvature plays a critical role. However, observations suggest that our universe is nearly flat. "This disconnect led me to consider whether another ingredient—specifically, a quantum potential—could take on the role normally reserved for curvature." In the quantum realm, the physicist explains, every particle can be described by a wave function that includes both a classical and also a quantum potential. The use of a quantum potential in place of cosmic curvature, he said, allows for a rapid expansion phase early in the universe that would explain the flatness and uniformity we see in the universe today. In Kumar's model, cosmic creation starts with a so-called Euclidean instanton, a phase in which time behaves more like space. "During this phase, the scale factor of the universe, which tells us about its size, follows a cosine-like behavior," he explains. "This behavior ensures that the universe emerges with a finite size at the moment time begins, thereby avoiding the infinite densities associated with singularities."

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According to Kumar, his universe–anti-universe model has implications beyond just the birth of our universe—as it may shine fresh light on several long-standing cosmological puzzles. These include the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the mysterious hidden phenomena physicists have proposed to explain, respectively, the unexpectedly high rotation of galaxies and the accelerating expansion of the universe. "The quantum entanglement between the universe and its anti-universe may be responsible for the mysterious phenomena of dark energy, driving the accelerated expansion we observe today," Kumar said. "Additionally, the symmetric creation process could provide insights into the nature and abundance of dark matter, potentially connecting these cosmic puzzles to the very birth of the universe." With his initial study complete, Kumar is now working to refine his cosmological model and further explore its implications for the evolution of the universe. "A critical next step is to derive testable predictions from this framework," the physicist explained. "I am working to identify subtle signatures—such as specific patterns in the cosmic microwave background, or in the large-scale structure of the universe—that could validate the universe/anti-universe creation process." He concluded: "I remain excited about the possibility that further research in this direction could illuminate some of the deepest mysteries in cosmology." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about cosmology? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

Reference

Kumar, N. (2025). Creation of a flat universe-antiuniverse pair from nothing. Europhysics Letters. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/adb451