Related papers: Backreaction: directions of progress
The universe is nearly isotropic on very large scales. It is much more difficult to show that the universe is radially homogeneous (independent of distance), or equivalently, that it is isotropic about distant points. This taken as an…
We discuss the Buchert equations, which describe the average expansion of an inhomogeneous dust universe. In the limit of small perturbations, they reduce to the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker equations. However, when the universe is very…
The backreaction of inhomogeneities on the cosmic dynamics is studied in the context of scalar-tensor gravity. Due to terms of indefinite sign in the non-canonical effective energy tensor of the Brans-Dicke-like scalar field, extra…
An approach to cosmological modelling is presented that incorporates the inhomogeneous structure of the Cosmic Web, specifically focusing on the interplay between cosmic voids and density walls. We extend the standard homogeneous and…
In standard perturbation approaches and N-body simulations, inhomogeneities are described to evolve on a predefined background cosmology, commonly taken as the homogeneous-isotropic solutions of Einstein's field equations…
Vacuum energy is a simple model for dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe. If the vacuum energy is inhomogeneous in spacetime then it must be interacting. We present the general equations for a spacetime-dependent…
We investigate the way big rips are approached in a fully inhomogeneous description of the space-time geometry. If the pressure and energy densities are connected by a (supernegative) barotropic index, the spatial gradients and the…
Assuming the universe is spatially homogeneous on the largest scales lays the foundation for almost all cosmology. This idea is based on the Copernican principle, that we are not at a particularly special place in the universe.…
The spatially homogeneous, isotropic Standard Cosmological Model appears to describe our Universe reasonably well. However, Einstein's equations allow a much larger class of cosmological solutions. Theorems originally due to Penrose and…
Current cosmological data indicate that our universe contains a substantial component of dark vacuum energy that is driving the cosmos to accelerate. We examine the immediate and longer term consequences of this dark energy (assumed here to…
I consider some of the issues we face in trying to understand dark energy. Huge fluctuations in the unknown dark energy equation of state can be hidden in distance data, so I argue that model-independent tests which signal if the…
Cosmological equations for homogeneous isotropic models filled by scalar fields and ultrarelativistic matter are investigated in the framework of gauge theories of gravity. Regular inflationary cosmological models of flat, closed and open…
It is the common consensus that the expansion of a universe always slows down if the gravity provided by the energy sources therein is attractive and accordingly one needs to invoke dark energy as a source of anti-gravity for understanding…
Over the last decades, observations with increasing quality have revolutionized our understanding of the general properties of the Universe. Questions posed for millenia by mankind about the origin, evolution and structure of the cosmos…
We point out that, due to the nonlinearity of the Einstein equations, a homogeneous approximation in cosmology leads to the appearance of an additional term in the Friedmann equation. This new term is associated with the spatial…
Recently, inhomogeneous generalisations of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological models have gained interest in the astrophysical community and are more often employed to study cosmological phenomena. However, in many papers…
We study the detailed process by which slow contraction smooths and flattens the universe using an improved numerical relativity code that accepts initial conditions with non-perturbative deviations from homogeneity and isotropy along two…
Inhomogeneous cosmological perturbation equations are derived in loop quantum gravity, taking into account corrections in particular in gravitational parts. This provides a framework for calculating the evolution of modes in structure…
The acceleration parameter defined through the local volume expansion is negative for a pressureless, irrotational fluid with positive energy density. In the presence of inhomogeneities or anisotropies the volume expansion rate results from…
If general relativity (GR) describes the expansion of the Universe, the observed cosmic acceleration implies the existence of a `dark energy'. However, while the Universe is on average homogeneous on large scales, it is inhomogeneous on…