Science & technology

Study: Universe Emerged from Black Hole Collapse

Published JUN 6 2025

Story

Above: Illustration of a star collapsing in on itself to form a black hole. Image credit: Tobias Roetsch/Contributor/Future Publishing via Getty Images

The Facts

Recent research published in Physical Review D this week proposed a new cosmological model, dubbed the "black hole universe," which suggests that the universe did not originate with the Big Bang but from the collapse and subsequent bounce of a massive black hole.
Journals
The Conversation
Independent
The standard Big Bang model begins with a singularity — a point of infinite density where physics breaks down — and relies on mysterious components like cosmic inflation and dark energy (that have never been directly observed) to explain the universe's structure and expansion.
The Conversation
IFLScience
Mashable India
The new model uses the quantum exclusion principle, which prevents identical particles from occupying the same quantum state, to show that gravitational collapse does not end in a singularity but instead causes matter to "bounce" and expand outward into a new phase.
The Conversation
Qazinform.com
This bounce occurs entirely within established physics frameworks of general relativity and quantum mechanics, naturally producing two phases of accelerated expansion that mimic inflation and dark energy without requiring hypothetical fields or exotic components.
Independent
IFLScience
The theory makes testable predictions, including that the universe has a small positive spatial curvature rather than being perfectly flat, which could be confirmed by current and upcoming space missions, such as the European Space Agency's Euclid and Arrakihs missions.
Qazinform.com
Mashable India
According to this model, the observable universe exists inside the interior of a black hole formed in a larger "parent" universe, representing a continuation of a cosmic cycle rather than the birth of everything from nothing.
The Conversation
IFLScience

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

The black hole universe model solves fundamental problems that plague standard cosmology. The Big Bang Theory begins with an impossible singularity and relies on mysterious dark energy and inflation fields that have never been directly detected. This new approach uses only well-established physics to explain cosmic origins naturally.

Space

Narrative B

While intriguing, this alternative model faces significant challenges in replacing the well-tested Big Bang framework. The standard model successfully explains cosmic microwave background observations and galaxy formation despite requiring some unknown components. New theories must demonstrate superior explanatory power before they can overturn established science.

Quanta Magazine