Related papers: Still flat after all these years
While the simple picture of a spatially flat, matter plus cosmological constant universe fits current observation of the accelerated expansion, strong consideration has also been given to models with dynamical vacuum energy. We examine the…
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.…
Recent experimental results find strong indications that the universe is flat, while other experimental results from supernovae Ia observations have been interpreted to show that, not only that there is an accelerating expansion of the…
It is quite remarkable that seventy years after Hubble discovered the expansion of the Universe, we still have no idea in which of the three Friedmann-Robertson-Walker geometries we live. Most of the current literature has focussed on flat…
The question of determining the spatial geometry of the Universe is of greater relevance than ever, as precision cosmology promises to verify inflationary predictions about the curvature of the Universe. We revisit the question of what can…
Observations of microwave background fluctuations can yield information not only about the geometry of the universe, but potentially about the topology of the universe. If the universe is negatively curved, then the characteristic scale for…
It is well known that observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are highly sensitive to the spatial curvature of the Universe, k. Here we find that what is in fact being tightly constrained by small angle fluctuations is spatial…
The "cosmic triangle" is introduced as a way of representing the past, present, and future status of the universe. Our current location within the cosmic triangle is determined by the answers to three questions: How much matter is in the…
If the universe is infinite now it has always been infinite. This is the opinion of many astronomers today as can be concluded from the following series of interviews, but the opinions differ much more than I had expected. Many astronomers…
What is the shape of the Universe? Is it curved or flat, finite or infinite ? Is space "wrapped around" to create ghost images of faraway cosmic sources? We review how tessellations allow to build multiply-connected 3D Riemannian spaces…
Is the Universe (a spatial section thereof) finite or infinite? Knowing the global geometry of a Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre (FL) universe requires knowing both its curvature and its topology. A flat or hyperbolic (``open'') FL universe is {\em…
Big Bang models of the Universe predict rapid domination by curvature, a paradox known as the flatness problem. Solutions to this problem usually leave the Universe exactly flat for every practical purpose. Explaining a nearly but not…
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…
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…
Several recent observations using standard rulers and standard candles now suggest, either individually or in combination, that the Universe is close to flat, i.e. that the curvature radius is about as large as the horizon radius (\sim…
The evidence for a Big Bang origin of the Universe is truly compelling, though its cause remains a complete mystery. As the cosmic spacetime is revealed to us with ever improving detail, however, we are beginning to refine the range of its…
Geometry of the universe has always intrigued mathematicians and cosmologists. Recent results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Project (WMAP) indicate that the visible universe is incredibly flat. This apparent flatness could be due…
We explore the possibility that the entire departure of galactic rotational velocities from their luminous Newtonian expectation be cosmological in origin, and show that within the framework of conformal gravity (but not Einstein gravity…
We discuss how the curvature of the universe can be robustly measured employing only the gross features of the CMB anisotropy spectrum. Though the position of the first peak is not robust, uncertainties in the model for structure formation…
We study here what it means for the Universe to be nearly flat, as opposed to exactly flat. We give three definitions of nearly flat, based on density, geometry and dynamics; all three definitions are equivalent and depend on a single…