282 research outputs found
Perturbation Theory in Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi Cosmology
15 pages, no figures15 pages, no figures15 pages, no figuresThe Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi solution has received much attention as a possible alternative to Dark Energy, as it is able to account for the apparent acceleration of the Universe without any exotic matter content. However, in order to make rigorous comparisons between these models and cosmological observations, such as the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, baryon acoustic oscillations and the observed matter power spectrum, it is absolutely necessary to have a proper understanding of the linear perturbation theory about them. Here we present this theory in a fully general, and gauge-invariant form. It is shown that scalar, vector and tensor perturbations interact, and that the natural gauge invariant variables in Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi cosmology do not correspond straightforwardly to the usual Bardeen variables, in the limit of spatial homogeneity. We therefore construct new variables that reduce to pure scalar, vector and tensor modes in this limit
Redshift Drift in LTB Void Universes
We study the redshift drift, i.e., the time derivative of the cosmological
redshift in the Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) solution in which the observer is
assumed to be located at the symmetry center. This solution has often been
studied as an anti-Copernican universe model to explain the acceleration of
cosmic volume expansion without introducing the concept of dark energy. One of
decisive differences between LTB universe models and Copernican universe models
with dark energy is believed to be the redshift drift. The redshift drift is
negative in all known LTB universe models, whereas it is positive in the
redshift domain in Copernican models with dark energy. However,
there have been no detailed studies on this subject. In the present paper, we
prove that the redshift drift of an off-center source is always negative in the
case of LTB void models. We also show that the redshift drift can be positive
with an extremely large hump-type inhomogeneity. Our results suggest that we
can determine whether we live near the center of a large void without dark
energy by observing the redshift drift.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Galaxy correlations and the BAO in a void universe: structure formation as a test of the Copernican Principle
A suggested solution to the dark energy problem is the void model, where
accelerated expansion is replaced by Hubble-scale inhomogeneity. In these
models, density perturbations grow on a radially inhomogeneous background. This
large scale inhomogeneity distorts the spherical Baryon Acoustic Oscillation
feature into an ellipsoid which implies that the bump in the galaxy correlation
function occurs at different scales in the radial and transverse correlation
functions. We compute these for the first time, under the approximation that
curvature gradients do not couple the scalar modes to vector and tensor modes.
The radial and transverse correlation functions are very different from those
of the concordance model, even when the models have the same average BAO scale.
This implies that if void models are fine-tuned to satisfy average BAO data,
there is enough extra information in the correlation functions to distinguish a
void model from the concordance model. We expect these new features to remain
when the full perturbation equations are solved, which means that the radial
and transverse galaxy correlation functions can be used as a powerful test of
the Copernican Principle.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, matches published versio
Precision cosmology defeats void models for acceleration
The suggestion that we occupy a privileged position near the centre of a
large, nonlinear, and nearly spherical void has recently attracted much
attention as an alternative to dark energy. Putting aside the philosophical
problems with this scenario, we perform the most complete and up-to-date
comparison with cosmological data. We use supernovae and the full cosmic
microwave background spectrum as the basis of our analysis. We also include
constraints from radial baryonic acoustic oscillations, the local Hubble rate,
age, big bang nucleosynthesis, the Compton y-distortion, and for the first time
include the local amplitude of matter fluctuations, \sigma_8. These all paint a
consistent picture in which voids are in severe tension with the data. In
particular, void models predict a very low local Hubble rate, suffer from an
"old age problem", and predict much less local structure than is observed.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures; v2 adds models in closed backgrounds;
conclusions strengthened; version accepted to Phys. Rev.
Relativistic cosmology number densities in void-Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi models
Aims. The goal of this work is to compute the number density of far-IR selected galaxies in the comoving frame and along the past lightcone of observationally constrained Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi “giant void” models and to compare those results with their standard model counterparts
Supernovae as seen by off-center observers in a local void
Inhomogeneous universe models have been proposed as an alternative
explanation for the apparent acceleration of the cosmic expansion that does not
require dark energy. In the simplest class of inhomogeneous models, we live
within a large, spherically symmetric void. Several studies have shown that
such a model can be made consistent with many observations, in particular the
redshift--luminosity distance relation for type Ia supernovae, provided that
the void is of Gpc size and that we live close to the center. Such a scenario
challenges the Copernican principle that we do not occupy a special place in
the universe. We use the first-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II supernova
search data set as well as the Constitution supernova data set to put
constraints on the observer position in void models, using the fact that
off-center observers will observe an anisotropic universe. We first show that a
spherically symmetric void can give good fits to the supernova data for an
on-center observer, but that the two data sets prefer very different voids. We
then continue to show that the observer can be displaced at least fifteen
percent of the void scale radius from the center and still give an acceptable
fit to the supernova data. When combined with the observed dipole anisotropy of
the cosmic microwave background however, we find that the data compells the
observer to be located within about one percent of the void scale radius. Based
on these results, we conclude that considerable fine-tuning of our position
within the void is needed to fit the supernova data, strongly disfavouring the
model from a Copernican principle point of view.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, matches the published versio
Cosmological model dependence of the galaxy luminosity function: far-infrared results in the Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi model
Aims. This is the first paper of a series aiming at investigating galaxy formation and evolution in the giant-void class of the Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) models that best fits current cosmological observations. Here we investigate the luminosity function (LF) methodology, and how its estimates would be affected by a change on the cosmological model assumed in its computation. Are the current observational constraints on the allowed cosmology enough to yield robust LF results
Dynamics of a lattice Universe
We find a solution to Einstein field equations for a regular toroidal lattice
of size L with equal masses M at the centre of each cell; this solution is
exact at order M/L. Such a solution is convenient to study the dynamics of an
assembly of galaxy-like objects. We find that the solution is expanding (or
contracting) in exactly the same way as the solution of a
Friedman-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker Universe with dust having the same average
density as our model. This points towards the absence of backreaction in a
Universe filled with an infinite number of objects, and this validates the
fluid approximation, as far as dynamics is concerned, and at the level of
approximation considered in this work.Comment: 14 pages. No figure. Accepted version for Classical and Quantum
Gravit
Light propagation in statistically homogeneous and isotropic universes with general matter content
We derive the relationship of the redshift and the angular diameter distance
to the average expansion rate for universes which are statistically homogeneous
and isotropic and where the distribution evolves slowly, but which have
otherwise arbitrary geometry and matter content. The relevant average expansion
rate is selected by the observable redshift and the assumed symmetry properties
of the spacetime. We show why light deflection and shear remain small. We write
down the evolution equations for the average expansion rate and discuss the
validity of the dust approximation.Comment: 42 pages, no figures. v2: Corrected one detail about the angular
diameter distance and two typos. No change in result
Complete solutions to the metric of spherically collapsing dust in an expanding spacetime with a cosmological constant
We present semi-analytical solutions to the background equations describing
the Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric as well as the homogeneous Friedmann
equations, in the presence of dust, curvature and a cosmological constant
Lambda. For none of the presented solutions any numerical integration has to be
performed. All presented solutions are given for expanding and collapsing
phases, preserving continuity in time and radius. Hence, these solutions
describe the complete space time of a collapsing spherical object in an
expanding universe. In the appendix we present for completeness a solution of
the Friedmann equations in the additional presence of radiation, only valid for
the Robertson-Walker metric.Comment: 23 pages, one figure. Numerical module for evaluation of the
solutions released at
http://web.physik.rwth-aachen.de/download/valkenburg/ColLambda/ Matches
published version, published under Open Access. Note change of titl
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