Related papers: Luminosity distance in "Swiss cheese" cosmology wi…
An open or hyperbolic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime dominated by tachyonic dark matter can exhibit an ``inflected'' expansion -- initially decelerating, later accelerating -- similar but not identical to that of now-standard…
As an alternative to dark energy it has been suggested that we may be at the center of an inhomogeneous isotropic universe described by a Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) solution of Einstein's field equations. In order to test such an…
The current cosmological dark sector (dark matter plus dark energy) is challenging our comprehension about the physical processes taking place in the Universe. Recently, some authors tried to falsify the basic underlying assumptions of such…
One of the possible extensions of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity consists in allowing for the presence of spacetime torsion. The form of the underlying torsion tensor can be chosen such that the homogeneity and isotropy of…
The luminosity distance describing the effect of local inhomogeneities in the propagation of light proposed by Zeldovich-Kantowski-Dyer-Roeder (ZKDR) is tested with two probes for two distinct ranges of redshifts: supernovae Ia (SNe Ia) in…
A method for constructing statistically homogeneous and isotropic perfect fluid universe models with significant cosmic backreaction is proposed. The method is illustrated using a simplified model constructed as a Swiss-cheese model with…
Peculiar velocities of galaxies hosting Type Ia supernovae generate a significant systematic effect in deriving the dark energy equation of state w, at level of a few percent. Here we illustrate how the peculiar velocity effect in SN Ia…
We present a new definition of cosmic void and a publicly available code with the algorithm that implements it. Underdense regions are defined as free-form objects, called popcorn voids, made from the union of spheres of maximum volume with…
The present matter density of the Universe, while highly inhomogeneous on small scales, displays approximate homogeneity on large scales. We propose that whereas it is justified to use the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) line…
One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is Dark Energy, which is required to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe within the standard model. But maybe one can explain the observations without introducing new physics, by…
The fitting of the observed redshifts and magnitudes of type Ia supernovae to what we would see in homogeneous cosmological models has led to constraints on cosmological parameters. However, in doing such fits it is assumed that the sampled…
We reconstruct the expansion history of the Universe using type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) in a manner independent of any cosmological model assumptions. To do so, we implement a non-parametric iterative smoothing method on the Joint Light-curve…
As an alternative explanation of the dimming of distant supernovae it has recently been advocated that we live in a special place in the Universe near the centre of a large spherical void described by a Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric.…
In this paper, I revoke a debate about an origin of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) dimming. I argue that except for a commonly accepted accelerating expansion of the Universe, a conceivable alternative for explaining this observation is universe…
Parameters that quantify the acceleration of cosmic expansion are conventionally determined within the standard Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model, which fixes spatial curvature to be homogeneous. Generic averages of…
The magnitude-redshift relation is one of the tools for a direct observational approach to cosmology. The discovery of high redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) and their use as ``standard candles'' has resurrected interest in this approach.…
A local void in the globally Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model with the critical density ($\Omega_{0}=1$) is studied. The inhomogeneity is described using a Lema\^{\i}tre-Tolman-Bondi solution for a spherically symmetric…
The inhomogeneous distribution of matter in the non-linear regime of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and voids is described by an exact, spherically symmetric inhomogeneous solution of Einstein's gravitational field equations, corresponding…
Due to the effects of gravitational lensing, the magnification distribution of high redshift supenovae can be a powerful discriminator between smooth dark matter and dark matter consisting of compact objects. We use high resolution N-body…
Control of systematic uncertainties in the use of Type Ia supernovae as standardized distance indicators can be achieved through contrasting subsets of observationally-characterized, like supernovae. Essentially, like supernovae at…