Evidence for the fifth element

Abstract

Evidence for an accelerated expansion of the universe as it has been revealed 10?years ago by the Hubble diagram of distant type Ia supernovae represents one of the major modern revolutions for fundamental physics and cosmology. It is yet unclear whether the explanation of the fact that gravity becomes repulsive on large scales should be found within general relativity or within a new theory of gravitation. However, existing evidences for this acceleration all come from astrophysical observations. Before accepting a drastic revision of fundamental physics, it is interesting to critically examine the present situation of the astrophysical observations and the possible limitation in their interpretation. In this review, the main various observational probes are presented as well as the framework to interpret them with special attention to the complex astrophysics and theoretical hypotheses that may limit actual evidences for the acceleration of the expansion. Even when scrutinized with skeptical eyes, the evidence for an accelerating universe is robust. Investigation of its very origin appears as the most fascinating challenge of modern physics.