Related papers: Cosmology With A Dark Refraction Index
We show that it is possible to equate the intensity reduction of a light wave caused by weak absorption with a geometrical reduction in intensity caused by a "transverse" conformal transformation of the spacetime metric in which the wave…
We show that Gordon's optical metric on a curved spacetime can be generalized to include absorption by allowing the metric to become complex. We demonstrate its use in the realm of geometrical optics by giving three simple examples. We use…
Deviations from the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological model in the form of density inhomogeneities induce observational effects on the light propagating through these fluctuations. Using a rigorously parametrized metric whose…
The interpretation of cosmological observations relies on a notion of an average Universe, which is usually considered as the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model. However, inhomogeneities may…
We study the behavior of light rays in perturbed Robertson-Walker cosmologies, calculating the redshift between an observer and the surface of last scattering to second order in the metric perturbation. At first order we recover the classic…
The subject of this paper is the derivation of the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (iSW) effect in cosmologies with coupled dark matter and dark energy fluids. These couplings influence the iSW-effect in three ways: The Hubble function assumes a…
The Hubble relation between distance and redshift is a purely cosmographic relation that depends only on the symmetries of a FLRW spacetime, but does not intrinsically make any dynamical assumptions. This suggests that it should be possible…
On small scales the observable Universe is highly inhomogeneous, with galaxies and clusters forming a complex web of voids and filaments. The optical properties of such configurations can be quite different from the perfectly smooth…
Gravitational waves are messengers carrying valuable information about their sources. For sources at cosmological distances, the waves will contain also the imprint left by the intervening matter. The situation is in close analogy with…
We describe a method using the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect caused by individual inhomogeneities to determine the cosmological parameters, $H_0$, $\Omega_{\rm m}$, and $\Omega_\Lambda$, etc. This ISW-redshift test requires detailed…
A local void in the globally Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological model is studied. The inhomogeneity is described using the Lema\^{\i}tre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) solution with the spherically symmetric matter distribution based on the…
The next generation of telescopes will usher in an era of precision cosmology, capable of determining the cosmological model to beyond the percent level. For this to be effective, the theoretical model must be understood to at least the…
In this methodological note we discuss several topics related to interpretation of some basic cosmological principles. We demonstrate that one of the key points is the usage of synchronous reference frames. The Friedmann-Robertson-Walker…
Motivated by the dawn of precision cosmology and the wealth of forthcoming high precision and volume galaxy surveys, in this paper we study the effects of inhomogeneities on light propagation in a flat \Lambda CDM background. To this end we…
How does inhomogeneity affect our interpretation of cosmological observations? It has long been wondered to what extent the observable properties of an inhomogeneous universe differ from those of a corresponding…
It is known that the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature fluctuations are modified by gravitational lensing since the angular positions of photons are altered by the metric perturbations. We reconsider this effect in the context…
In this paper we discuss the effect of local inhomogeneities on the global expansion of nearly FLRW universes, in a perturbative setting. We derive a generic linearized averaging operation for metric perturbations from basic assumptions,…
This work considers the way that quantum loop effects modify the propagation of light in curved space. The calculation of the refractive index for scalar QED is reviewed and then extended for the first time to QED with spinor particles in…
Using the Fermat's principle in curved space-time with stationary type metric, we have obtained the speed of light as a function of spatial coordinates and hence the corresponding refractive index. The whole region with space dependent…
We outline the key-steps toward the construction of a physical, fully relativistic cosmology. The influence of inhomogeneities on the effective evolution history of the Universe is encoded in backreaction terms and expressed through…