Related papers: Cosmic Curvature Tested Directly from Observations
Model-independent methods in cosmology has become an essential tool in order to deal with an increasing number of theoretical alternatives for explaining the late-time acceleration of the Universe. In principle, this provides a way of…
Not much by themselves, aparently. We try to reconstruct the scale factor $a(t)$ of the universe from the SNe Ia data, i.e. the luminosity distance $d_{L}(z)$, using only the cosmological principle and the assumption that gravitation is…
A precise measurement of the curvature of the Universe is of primeval importance for cosmology since it could not only confirm the paradigm of primordial inflation but also help in discriminating between different early Universe scenarios.…
We present the first determination of the Hubble constant $H_0$ from strong lensing time delay data and type Ia supernova luminosity distances that is independent of the cosmological model. We also determine the spatial curvature…
Observations of distant supernovae indicate that the Universe is now in a phase of accelerated expansion the physical cause of which is a mystery. Formally, this requires the inclusion of a term acting as a negative pressure in the…
We use cosmography to present constraints on the kinematics of the Universe, without postulating any underlying theoretical model. To this end, we use a Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis to perform comparisons to the supernova Ia Union 2…
We examine the dark energy and matter densities allowed by precision measurements of distances out to various redshifts, in the presence of spatial curvature and (near) arbitrary behavior of the dark energy equation of state. Degeneracies…
We present a brief history of the construction of models of the universe, followed by calculations of quantitative characteristics of basic geometric and kinematic properties of the Standard Cosmological Model ($\Lambda$CDM). Using the…
Several cosmological measurements have attained significant levels of maturity and accuracy over the last decade. Continuing this trend, future observations promise measurements of the statistics of the cosmic mass distribution at an…
The observed acceleration of the universe, explained through dark energy, could alternatively be explained through a modification of gravity that would also induce modifications in the evolution of cosmological perturbations. We use new…
The cosmic web that characterizes the large-scale structure of the Universe can be quantified by a variety of methods. For example, large redshift surveys can be used in combination with point process algorithms to extract long curvilinear…
A method of general applicability has been developed, whereby the null geodesic equations of the Einstein-Straus-de Sitter metric can be integrated simultaneously in terms of the curvature constant $k$. The purpose is to generalize the…
We argue that the curvature generated by a gravitational field can be used to calculate the corresponding metric which determines the trajectories of freely falling test particles. To this end, we present a method to compute the metric from…
If the assumption that physical space has a trivial topology is dropped, then the Universe may be described by a multiply connected Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre model on a sub-horizon scale. Specific candidates for the multiply connected space…
Cosmological observables rely heavily on summary statistics such as two-point correlation functions. In many practical cases (e.g. the weak-lensing cosmic shear), those correlation functions are estimated from a finite, discrete sample of…
We investigate what current cosmological data tells us about the cosmological expansion rate in a model independent way. Specifically, we study if the expansion was decelerating at high redshifts and is accelerating now, without referring…
A new method is proposed for directly measuring the expansion rate of the universe through very precise measurement of the fluence of extremely stable sources. The method is based on the definition of the luminosity distance and its change…
To test the theory of gravity one needs to test, on one hand, how space and time are distorted by matter and, on the other hand, how matter moves in a distorted space-time. Current observations provide tight constraints on the motion of…
Evidence for almost spatial flatness of the Universe has been provided from several observational probes, including the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) from galaxy clustering data. However, other…
The Friedmann equation is derived for a Newtonian universe. Changing mass density to energy density gives exactly the Friedmann equation of general relativity. Accounting for work done by pressure then yields the two Einstein equations that…