Comments on Backreaction and Cosmic Acceleration

In this brief WEB note we comment on recent papers related to our paper "On Acceleration Without Dark Energy".Comment: 5 pages WEB not

Comments on Long-Wavelength Backreaction and Dark Energy

In this brief note we comment on a recent attempt by Martineau and Brandenberger (astro-ph/0510523) to explain the acceleration of the Universe using the back-reaction of long-wavelength perturbations associated with isocurvature perturbation modes.Comment: 7 page

Gravitational Backreaction of Matter Inhomogeneities

The non-linearity of Einstein's equations makes it possible for small-scale matter inhomogeneities to affect the Universe at cosmological distances. We study the size of such effects using a simple heuristic model that captures the most important backreaction effect due to nonrelativistc matter, as well as several exact solutions describing inhomogeneous and anisotropic expanding universes. We find that the effects are $O(H^2l^2/c^2)$ or smaller, where $H$ is the Hubble parameter and $l$ the typical size scale of inhomogeneities. For virialized structures this is of order $v^2/c^2$, where $v$ is the characteristic peculiar velocity.Comment: 16 page

Signatures of Primordial Non-Gaussianity in the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

We discuss how primordial (e.g. inflationary) non-Gaussianity in the cosmological perturbations is left imprinted in the Large-Scale Structure of the universe. Our findings show that the information on the primordial non-Gaussianity set on super-Hubble scales flows into Post-Newtonian terms, leaving an observable imprint in the Large-Scale Structure. Future high-precision measurements of the statistics of the dark matter density and peculiar velocity fields will allow to pin down the primordial non-Gaussianity, thus representing a tool complementary to studies of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX file; Revised to match the final version accepted for publication on JCAP (some comments and one figure added

Late-time Inhomogeneity and Acceleration Without Dark Energy

The inhomogeneous distribution of matter in the non-linear regime of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and voids is described by an exact, spherically symmetric inhomogeneous solution of Einstein's gravitational field equations, corresponding to an under-dense void. The solution becomes the homogeneous and isotropic Einstein-de Sitter solution for a red shift $z > 10-20$, which describes the matter dominated CMB data with small inhomogeneities $\delta\rho/\rho\sim 10^{-5}$. A spatial volume averaging of physical quantities is introduced and the averaged time evolution expansion parameter $\theta$ in the Raychoudhuri equation can give rise in the late-time universe to a volume averaged deceleration parameter $$ that is negative for a positive matter density. This allows for a region of accelerated expansion which does not require a negative pressure dark energy or a cosmological constant. A negative deceleration parameter can be derived by this volume averaging procedure from the Lema\^{i}tre-Tolman-Bondi open void solution, which describes the late-time non-linear regime associated with galaxies and under-dense voids and solves the ``coincidence'' problem.Comment: LaTex file, 16 pages, no figures. Typo corrections. References added and updated. Additional material and some conclusions changed. Replacement to match final published version in Journ. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. JCAP 200

A cosmic equation of state for the inhomogeneous Universe: can a global far-from-equilibrium state explain Dark Energy?

A system of effective Einstein equations for spatially averaged scalar variables of inhomogeneous cosmological models can be solved by providing a `cosmic equation of state'. Recent efforts to explain Dark Energy focus on `backreaction effects' of inhomogeneities on the effective evolution of cosmological parameters in our Hubble volume, avoiding a cosmological constant in the equation of state. In this Letter it is argued that, if kinematical backreaction effects are indeed of the order of the averaged density (or larger as needed for an accelerating domain of the Universe), then the state of our regional Hubble volume would have to be in the vicinity of a far-from-equilibrium state that balances kinematical backreaction and average density. This property, if interpreted globally, is shared by a stationary cosmos with effective equation of state $p_{\rm eff} = -1/3 \rho_{\rm eff}$. It is concluded that a confirmed explanation of Dark Energy by kinematical backreaction may imply a paradigmatic change of cosmology.Comment: 7 pages, matches published version in Class. Quant. Gra

Can the Acceleration of Our Universe Be Explained by the Effects of Inhomogeneities?

No. It is simply not plausible that cosmic acceleration could arise within the context of general relativity from a back-reaction effect of inhomogeneities in our universe, without the presence of a cosmological constant or ``dark energy.'' We point out that our universe appears to be described very accurately on all scales by a Newtonianly perturbed FLRW metric. (This assertion is entirely consistent with the fact that we commonly encounter $\delta \rho/\rho > 10^{30}$.) If the universe is accurately described by a Newtonianly perturbed FLRW metric, then the back-reaction of inhomogeneities on the dynamics of the universe is negligible. If not, then it is the burden of an alternative model to account for the observed properties of our universe. We emphasize with concrete examples that it is {\it not} adequate to attempt to justify a model by merely showing that some spatially averaged quantities behave the same way as in FLRW models with acceleration. A quantity representing the ``scale factor'' may ``accelerate'' without there being any physically observable consequences of this acceleration. It also is {\it not} adequate to calculate the second-order stress energy tensor and show that it has a form similar to that of a cosmological constant of the appropriate magnitude. The second-order stress energy tensor is gauge dependent, and if it were large, contributions of higher perturbative order could not be neglected. We attempt to clear up the apparent confusion between the second-order stress energy tensor arising in perturbation theory and the ``effective stress energy tensor'' arising in the ``shortwave approximation.''Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, several footnotes and references added, version accepted for publication in CQG;some clarifying comments adde

On cosmic acceleration without dark energy

We elaborate on the proposal that the observed acceleration of the Universe is the result of the backreaction of cosmological perturbations, rather than the effect of a negative-pressure dark-energy fluid or a modification of general relativity. Through the effective Friedmann equations describing an inhomogeneous Universe after smoothing, we demonstrate that acceleration in our local Hubble patch is possible even if fluid elements do not individually undergo accelerated expansion. This invalidates the no-go theorem that there can be no acceleration in our local Hubble patch if the Universe only contains irrotational dust. We then study perturbatively the time behavior of general-relativistic cosmological perturbations, applying, where possible, the renormalization group to regularize the dynamics. We show that an instability occurs in the perturbative expansion involving sub-Hubble modes. Whether this is an indication that acceleration in our Hubble patch originates from the backreaction of cosmological perturbations on observable scales requires a fully non-perturbative approach.Comment: 33 pages, LaTeX file. Revised to match the final version accepted for publication in NJ

Enhancing the tensor-to-scalar ratio in simple inflation

We show that in theories with a nontrivial kinetic term the contribution of the gravitational waves to the CMB fluctuations can be substantially larger than that is naively expected in simple inflationary models. This increase of the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio leads to a larger B-component of the CMB polarization, thus making the prospects for future detection much more promising. The other important consequence of the considered model is a higher energy scale of inflation and hence higher reheating temperature compared to a simple inflation.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure and references are added, discussion is slightly extended, published versio

Can a dust dominated universe have accelerated expansion?

Recently, there has been suggestions that the apparent accelerated expansion of the universe is due not to a cosmological constant, but rather to inhomogeneities in the distribution of matter. In this work, we investigate a specific class of inhomogeneous models that can be solved analytically, namely the dust-dominated Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi universe models. We show that they do not permit accelerated cosmic expansion.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. v3: Paper shortened and updated. References added. v4: Minor LATEX problem fixed. Submitted to JCA