Related papers: Observational Constraints on the Averaged Universe
The Lorentzian spacetime metric is replaced by an area metric which naturally emerges as a generalized geometry in quantum string and gauge theory. Employing the area metric curvature scalar, the gravitational Einstein-Hilbert action is…
We investigate the averaging problem in cosmology as the problem of introducing a distance between spaces. We first introduce the spectral distance, which is a measure of closeness between spaces defined in terms of the spectra of the…
While many observations support the validity of Einstein's general relativity as the theory of gravity, there are yet many that suggest the presence of new physics. In order to explain the high-redshift supernovae Ia observations together…
The problems of coarse-graining and averaging of inhomogeneous cosmologies, and their backreaction on average cosmic evolution, are reviewed from a physical viewpoint. A particular focus is placed on comparing different notions of average…
It is well-known that allowing for spatial curvature affects constraints on cosmological parameters such as the dark energy equation of state parameters. Here we study the effect of curvature on constraints on parameters used to test…
We assume a one-to-one correspondence between comoving coordinates and the cosmic rest frame in a spherically symmetric inhomogeneous universe. This strongly restricts the solutions of Einstein's equations: (i) The pressure must be zero.…
This thesis concerns the compatibility of inhomogeneous cosmologies with our present understanding of the universe. It is a problem of some interest to find the class of all relativistic cosmological models which are capable of providing a…
For general relativistic spacetimes filled with irrotational `dust' a generalized form of Friedmann's equations for an `effective' expansion factor $a_D (t)$ of inhomogeneous cosmologies is derived. Contrary to the standard Friedmann…
It has been recently proposed that the interpretation of gravity as an emergent, entropic force might have nontrivial implications to cosmology. Here two approaches are investigated: in one, the Friedman equation receives entropic…
This paper investigates the phenomenon of emergence of spatial curvature. This phenomenon is absent in the Standard Cosmological Model, which has a flat and fixed spatial curvature (small perturbations are considered in the Standard…
As evidenced by a great number of works, it is common practice to assume that the Universe is flat. However, the majority of studies which make use of observational data to constrain the curvature density parameter are premised on the…
For general relativistic spacetimes filled with an irrotational perfect fluid a generalized form of Friedmann's equations governing the expansion factor of spatially averaged portions of inhomogeneous cosmologies is derived. The averaging…
A large-scale smoothed-out model of the universe ignores small-scale inhomogeneities, but the averaged effects of those inhomogeneities may alter both observational and dynamical relations at the larger scale. This article discusses these…
The Universe is a physical object. Physical objects have shapes and sizes. General relativity is insufficient to describe the global shape and size of the Universe: the Hilbert-Einstein equations only treat limiting quantities towards an…
All the relativistic cosmological models of the universe, except Einstein's static model, imply that the 3-space of the spacetime of the universe is also expanding apart from the matter and the radiation in it. However, there is no…
How much of modern cosmology is really cosmography? How much of modern cosmology is independent of the Einstein equations? (Independent of the Friedmann equations?) These questions are becoming increasingly germane -- as the models…
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…
Modern observations based on general relativity indicate that the spatial geometry of the expanding, large-scale Universe is very nearly Euclidean. This basic empirical fact is at the core of the so-called "flatness problem", which is…
We propose a new generalisation of general relativity which incorporates a variation in both the speed of light in vacuum (c) and the gravitational constant (G) and which is both covariant and Lorentz invariant. We solve the generalised…
We establish purely geometric or metric-based criteria for the validity of the separate universe ansatz, under which the evolution of small-scale observables in a long-wavelength perturbation is indistinguishable from a separate…