Exact Solution of a Linear Wave Equation in Cosmological General Relativity

A linear second order wave equation is presented based on cosmological general relativity, which is a space-velocity theory of the expanding Universe. The wave equation is shown to be exactly solvable, based on the Gaussian hypergeometric function.Comment: 6 page

Einstein's Rocket Ship, the Deflection of Light and the Precession of the Orbital Perihelion

The nature of the principle of equivalence is explored. The light ray travel path in an accelerated reference frame, a rocket ship, is described and the rocket ship model is used to derive the deflection of light by a massive body. By accounting for the effect of the velocity of the accelerated observer relative to an inertial frame, the additional deflection angle is obtained due to the aberration of the light beam. This model is applied to the deflection of light by a central gravitational field, giving the total deflection angle in agreement with the standard result. Also, a novel approach is given by considering the deflection of light by a massive body to obtain the precession of the perihelion of a planet

On the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer spacecraft

The anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft of (8.74 \pm 1.33) \times 10^{-8} cm. s^{-2} fits with a theoretical prediction of a minimal acceleration in nature of about 7.61 \times 10^{-8} cm. s^{-2}Comment: 3 pages, accepted in Int. J. Theor. Phy

The Cosmic Time in Terms of the Redshift

In cosmology one labels the time t since the Big Bang in terms of the redshift of light emitted at t, as we see it now. In this Note we derive a formula that relates t to z which is valid for all redshifts. One can go back in time as far as one wishes, but not to the Big Bang at which the redshift tends to infinity.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Particle Pair Production in Cosmological General Relativity

The Cosmological General Relativity (CGR) of Carmeli, a 5-dimensional (5-D) theory of time, space and velocity, predicts the existence of an acceleration a_0 = c / tau due to the expansion of the universe, where c is the speed of light in vacuum, tau = 1 / h is the Hubble-Carmeli time constant, where h is the Hubble constant at zero distance and no gravity. The Carmeli force on a particle of mass m is F_c = m a_0, a fifth force in nature. In CGR, the effective mass density rho_eff = rho - rho_c, where rho is the matter density and rho_c is the critical mass density which we identify with the vacuum mass density rho_vac = -rho_c. The fields resulting from the weak field solution of the Einstein field equations in 5-D CGR and the Carmeli force are used to hypothesize the production of a pair of particles. The mass of each particle is found to be m = tau c^3 / 4 G, where G is Newton's constant. The vacuum mass density derived from the physics is rho_vac = -rho_c = -3 / (8 pi G tau^2). The cosmic microwave background (CMB) black body radiation at the temperature T_o = 2.72548 K which fills that volume is found to have a relationship to the ionization energy of the Hydrogen atom. Define the radiation energy epsilon_gamma = (1 - g) m c^2 / N_gamma, where (1-g) is the fraction of the initial energy m c^2 which converts to photons, g is a function of the baryon density parameter Omega_b and N_gamma is the total number of photons in the CMB radiation field. We make the connection with the ionization energy of the first quantum level of the Hydrogen atom by the hypothesis epsilon_gamma = [(1 - g) m c^2] / N_gamma = alpha^2 mu c^2 / 2, where alpha is the fine-structure constant and mu = m_p f / (1 + f), where f= m_e / m_p with m_e the electron mass and m_p the proton mass.Comment: 14 pages, 0 figures. The final publication is available at springerlink.co

Testing Cosmological General Relativity against high redshift observations

Several key relations are derived for Cosmological General Relativity which are used in standard observational cosmology. These include the luminosity distance, angular size, surface brightness and matter density. These relations are used to fit type Ia supernova (SNe Ia) data, giving consistent, well behaved fits over a broad range of redshift $0.1 < z < 2$. The best fit to the data for the local density parameter is $\Omega_{m} = 0.0401 \pm 0.0199$. Because $\Omega_{m}$ is within the baryonic budget there is no need for any dark matter to account for the SNe Ia redshift luminosity data. From this local density it is determined that the redshift where the universe expansion transitions from deceleration to acceleration is $z_{t}= 1.095 {}^{+0.264}_{-0.155}$. Because the fitted data covers the range of the predicted transition redshift $z_{t}$, there is no need for any dark energy to account for the expansion rate transition. We conclude that the expansion is now accelerating and that the transition from a closed to an open universe occurred about $8.54 {\rm Gyr}$ ago.Comment: Rewritten, improved and revised the discussion. This is now a combined paper of the former version and the Addendu

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century