Universe Set to Decay 10^22 Times Sooner Than Previously Estimated

In a surprising revision to our understanding of cosmic longevity, Dutch scientists have discovered that the universe will decay much faster than previously thought, though still on an almost incomprehensible timescale.

Their innovative calculations show the final stellar remnants will persist for about 10⁷⁸ years—a dramatic reduction from earlier estimates of 10¹¹⁰⁰ years. This finding expands the concept of Hawking radiation beyond black holes to all matter in the universe, setting a fundamental limit on how long anything can exist.

Hawking Radiation: Not Just for Black Holes Anymore

The research, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, represents a significant advancement in our understanding of cosmic decay processes. Black hole expert Heino Falcke, quantum physicist Michael Wondrak, and mathematician Walter van Suijlekom from Radboud University in the Netherlands collaborated on this interdisciplinary study.

Their work builds on their 2023 paper which revealed that spacetime curvature alone—without the need for an event horizon—can lead to evaporation via a process similar to Hawking radiation. Previously, this phenomenon was thought to apply exclusively to black holes.

“So the ultimate end of the universe comes much sooner than expected, but fortunately it still takes a very long time,” said lead author Heino Falcke, putting the mind-boggling timescale into perspective.

Density Determines Destiny

The team’s calculations revealed a surprisingly elegant relationship: the evaporation time of an object scales with its average mass density raised to the power of -3/2. In simpler terms, the denser an object is, the faster it will ultimately decay through this quantum process.

This relationship leads to some fascinating predictions about the lifespans of different cosmic objects:

• Neutron stars and stellar black holes: 10⁶⁷ years
• White dwarf stars: 10⁷⁸ years
• Human body and the Moon: 10⁹⁰ years

Perhaps most surprising was the discovery that neutron stars and black holes would decay at the same rate, despite black holes having stronger gravitational fields.

“But black holes have no surface,” explains co-author and postdoctoral researcher Michael Wondrak, “They reabsorb some of their own radiation which inhibits the process.”

The Mechanics of Universal Decay

What exactly is happening in this decay process? The fundamental mechanism builds on Stephen Hawking’s groundbreaking work from 1975, which postulated that contrary to Einstein’s theory of relativity, particles and radiation could escape from black holes.

At the edge of a black hole, quantum effects allow two virtual particles to temporarily form. Before they can recombine, one particle gets sucked into the black hole while the other escapes. Over extraordinarily long time periods, this process causes black holes to evaporate entirely.

The Dutch researchers have now extended this concept, showing that any object with a gravitational field—essentially everything with mass—experiences a similar quantum effect. The key difference is that ordinary matter does this at a much slower rate than black holes, but given enough time, everything will eventually decay.

Implications for the Far Future and Past

Could there be remnants from previous universes in our current one? The new findings suggest this would only be possible if the recurrence time between universes is less than about 10⁶⁸ years. Otherwise, any dense matter from a previous cosmic iteration would have already dissolved through this quantum process.

The study also indicates that primordial objects with densities above approximately 3×10⁵³ g/cm³ would have completely evaporated by now, even if they formed at the beginning of our universe.

While these timescales dwarf the current age of the universe (approximately 13.8 billion years), they do set a definitive upper limit on how long matter can persist—a concept that challenges previous notions of potentially infinite stability for certain objects.

Where Science Meets Philosophical Wonder

What might it mean that even the most stable objects have a finite lifespan? How does this change our perception of cosmic permanence? While these questions stretch beyond pure science into philosophical territory, they emerge naturally from this research.

Co-author Walter van Suijlekom, professor of mathematics at Radboud University, emphasizes the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration: “By asking these kinds of questions and looking at extreme cases, we want to better understand the theory, and perhaps one day, we will unravel the mystery of Hawking radiation.”

The researchers approached these calculations with both scientific rigor and a touch of playfulness, recognizing that while these findings have profound theoretical importance, they have little practical impact on our daily lives.

After all, as they subtly note in their paper, there are other processes that will cause humans and the Moon to disappear far sooner than the 10⁹⁰ years it would take for quantum evaporation to do the job. Nevertheless, this research provides a fascinating glimpse into the ultimate fate of all matter in our universe, bringing us one step closer to understanding the complete cosmic lifecycle.