English

Status of Cosmological Parameters: Can $\Omega=1$?

Astrophysics 2016-08-30 v2 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

I discuss the Hubble parameter H0H_0, the age of the universe t0t_0, the density Ω0\Omega_0, and the cosmological constant Λ\Lambda. To focus the discussion, I concentrate on the issue of the value of the density Ω0\Omega_0 in currently popular cosmological models in which most of the dark matter is cold, especially Cold + Hot Dark Matter (CHDM) and flat low- Ω\Omega CDM with a Cosmological Constant (Λ\LambdaCDM). The evidence would favor a small Ω00.3\Omega_0 \approx 0.3 if (1) the Hubble parameter actually has the high value h0.8h \approx 0.8 favored by many observers, and the age of the universe t013t_0 \geq 13 Gy; or (2) the baryonic/total mass ratio in clusters is actually 20\sim 20\%, about 3-4 times larger than expected for standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis in an Ω=1\Omega=1 universe, and standard BBN is actually right in predicting that the density of ordinary matter Ωb\Omega_b lies in the range 0.009Ωbh20.020.009 \leq \Omega_b h^2 \leq 0.02. The evidence would favor Ω=1\Omega=1 if (1) the POTENT analysis of galaxy peculiar velocity data is right, in particular regarding outflows from voids or the inability to obtain the present-epoch non-Gaussian density distribution from Gaussian initial fluctuations in a low-Ω\Omega universe; or (2) the preliminary report from LSND indicating a neutrino mass 2.4\geq 2.4 eV is right, since that would be too much hot dark matter to allow significant structure formation in a low-Ω\Omega Λ\LambdaCDM model. Statistics on gravitational lensing of quasars provide a strong upper limit on Λ\Lambda. Reliable data on all of these issues is becoming available so rapidly today that a clear decision between these alternatives may be possible within the next few years.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9503020,
  title  = {Status of Cosmological Parameters: Can $\Omega=1$?},
  author = {Joel R. Primack},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9503020},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

14 pages, uuencoded compressed .ps file; revised: typos corrected.