Related papers: Cosmic Inhomogeneities and the Average Cosmologica…
The backreaction of nonlinear inhomogeneities to the cosmic expansion is re-analyzed in the framework of general relativity. Apparent discrepancies regarding the effect of the nonlinear backreaction, which exist among the results of…
Exact results stemming directly from Einstein equations imply that inhomogeneous Universes endowed with vanishing pressure density can only decelerate, unless the energy density of the Universe becomes negative. Recent proposals seem to…
The predictions of homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models with ordinary matter and gravity are off by a factor of two in the late universe. One possible explanation is the known breakdown of homogeneity and isotropy due to the…
We show that cosmic acceleration can arise due to very tiny corrections to the usual gravitational action of General Relativity of the form $R^n$, with $n<0$. This eliminates the need for dark energy, though it does not address the…
The novel idea is that the undergoing accelerated expansion of the universe happens due to infrared quantum gravity modifications at intermediate astrophysical scales of galaxies or galaxy clusters, within the framework of Asymptotically…
The effective evolution of an inhomogeneous universe model in any theory of gravitation may be described in terms of spatially averaged variables. In Einstein's theory, restricting attention to scalar variables, this evolution can be…
We review recent progress in the construction of modified gravity models as alternatives to dark energy as well as the development of cosmological tests of gravity. Einstein's theory of General Relativity (GR) has been tested accurately…
Recent astronomical observations of distant supernovae light-curves suggest that the expansion of the universe has recently begun to accelerate. Acceleration is created by an anti-gravitational repulsive stress, like that produced by a…
The universe we observe is homogeneous on super-horizon scales, leading to the ``cosmic homogeneity problem''. Inflation alleviates this problem but cannot solve it within the realm of conservative extrapolations of classical physics. A…
The traditional "explanation" for the observed acceleration of the universe is the existence of a positive cosmological constant. However, this can hardly be a truly convincing explanation, as an expanding universe is not expected to have a…
In this work, I develop an alternative explanation for the acceleration of the cosmic expansion, which seems to be a result of recent high redshift Supernova data. In the current interpretation, this cosmic acceleration is explained by…
The discovery ten years ago that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating put in place the present cosmological model, in which the Universe is composed of 4% baryons, 20% dark matter, and 76% dark energy. Yet the underlying cause of…
Homogeneous isotropic cosmological models with two torsion functions filled with scalar fields and usual gravitating matter are built and investigated in the framework of the Poincar\'e gauge theory of gravity. It is shown that by certain…
The current standard cosmological model is constructed within the framework of general relativity with a cosmological constant $\Lambda$, which is often associated with dark energy, and phenomenologically explains the accelerated cosmic…
The currently available cosmological data yield, as a most striking result, that the expansion rate of the universe seems to be increasing at late times, contrary to the standard (zero cosmological constant) FLRW prediction. The usual…
When taking the real, inhomogeneous and anisotropic matter distribution in the semi-local universe into account, there may be no need to postulate an accelerating expansion of the universe despite recent type Ia supernova data. Local…
A consistent approach to Cosmology requires an explicit averaging of the Einstein equations, to describe a homogeneous and isotropic geometry. Such an averaging will in general modify the Einstein equations. The averaging procedure due to…
I briefly discuss some attempts to construct a consistent modification to General Relativity (GR) that might explain the observed late-time acceleration of the universe and provide an alternative to dark energy. I mention the issues facing…
The universe is not isotropic or spatially homogeneous on local scales. The averaging of local inhomogeneities in general relativity can lead to significant dynamical effects on the evolution of the universe and on the interpretation of…
High-precision observational data have confirmed with startling evidence that the Universe is currently undergoing a phase of accelerated expansion. This phase, one of the most important and challenging current problems in cosmology,…