English

Status of Cosmological Parameters: $\Omega_0\approx 0.3$ vs. $\Omega=1$

Astrophysics 2007-05-23 v1 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

The cosmological parameters that I discuss are the Hubble parameter H0100hH_0 \equiv 100 h km s1^{-1} Mpc1^{-1}, the age of the universe t0t_0, the average density Ω0\Omega_0, and the cosmological constant Λ\Lambda. To focus the discussion, I concentrate on the the value of Ω0\Omega_0 in currently popular models in which most of the dark matter is cold, especially Cold + Hot Dark Matter (CHDM) and flat (Ω0+ΩΛ=1\Omega_0 + \Omega_\Lambda=1) low-Ω\Omega CDM with a Cosmological Constant (Λ\LambdaCDM). The evidence would favor small Ω00.3\Omega_0 \approx 0.3 if (1) the Hubble parameter actually has the high value h0.75h \approx 0.75 favored by many observers, and t013t_0 \geq 13 Gy; or (2) the baryonic/total mass ratio in clusters of galaxies is actually 15\sim 15\%, about 3 times larger than expected for standard BBN in an Ω=1\Omega=1 universe, Ωb0.0125h2\Omega_b \approx 0.0125 h^{-2}, despite the recent measurement by Tytler of D/H=2.4×105D/H=2.4\times 10^{-5} in two high-redshift Lyman limit systems, implying Ωb0.024h2\Omega_b\approx 0.024 h^{-2}. 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 LSND report indicating neutrino mass \gsim2.4\gsim 2.4 eV is right, since that would be too much hot dark matter to allow significant structure formation in a low-Ω0\Omega_0 Λ\LambdaCDM model. Statistics on gravitational lensing of quasars provide an upper limit on Λ\Lambda, and the preliminary results on the deceleration parameter q0=Ω0/2ΩΛq_0=\Omega_0/2-\Omega_\Lambda on very large scales from high-redshift Type Ia supernovae suggest that Ω01\Omega_0 \sim 1 and ΩΛ\Omega_\Lambda is small.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9604184,
  title  = {Status of Cosmological Parameters: $\Omega_0\approx 0.3$ vs. $\Omega=1$},
  author = {Joel R. Primack},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9604184},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

31 pages. To appear in International School of Physics ``Enrico Fermi'', Course CXXXII: Dark Matter in the Universe, Varenna 1995, eds. S. Bonometto, J.R. Primack, A. Provenzale