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In the standard cosmological model, the dimming of distant Type Ia supernovae is explained by invoking the existence of repulsive `dark energy' which is causing the Hubble expansion to accelerate. However this may be an artifact of…
Some remarkable examples of alternative cosmological theories are reviewed here, ranging from a compilation of variations on the Standard Model through the more distant quasi-steady-state cosmology, plasma cosmology, or universe models as a…
The negative pressure accompanying gravitationally-induced particle creation can lead to a cold dark matter (CDM) dominated, accelerating Universe (Lima et al. 1996) without requiring the presence of dark energy or a cosmological constant.…
A phenomenological formalism is presented in which the apparent acceleration of the universe is generated by large-scale structure formation, thus eliminating the magnitude and coincidence fine-tuning problems of the Cosmological Constant…
We look at observational constraints on the thawing class of scalar field models proposed to explain the late time acceleration of the universe. Using the recently introduced `Statefinder Hierarchy', we compare these thawing class of models…
Few statements in cosmology can be made without assuming a cosmological model within which to interpret data. Statements about cosmic acceleration are no exception to this rule, and the inferred positive volume acceleration of our Universe…
We probe the cosmic acceleration by using the recently released SNLS3 sample of 472 type Ia supernovae. Combining this type Ia supernovae dataset with the cosmic microwave background anisotropy data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy…
We use the new SNe Ia discovered by the SDSS-II Supernova Survey together with additional supernova datasets as well as observations of the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations to constrain cosmological models. This…
An alternative model describing the dynamics of a flat Universe without cosmological constant and allowing a gradual change of c with time is proposed. New relationships of redshift vs. distance and cosmic background radiation temperature…
With the recent progresses on the Type II supernovae, we attempt to investigate whether there does exist new physics beyond the standard cosmological paradigm, i.e., the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ plus cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM).…
We consider a cosmology in which a spherically symmetric large scale inhomogeneous enhancement or a void are described by an inhomogeneous metric and Einstein's gravitational equations. For a flat matter dominated universe the inhomogeneous…
We present a short (and necessarily incomplete) review of the evidence for the accelerated expansion of the Universe. The most direct probe of acceleration relies on the detailed study of supernovae (SN) of type Ia. Assuming that these are…
We review observational tests for the homogeneity of the Universe on large scales. Redshift and peculiar velocity surveys, radio sources, the X-Ray Background, the Lyman-alpha forest and the Cosmic Microwave Background are used to set…
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…
As an alternative to dark energy that explains the observed acceleration of the universe, 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…
The recent observations of type Ia supernovae strongly support that the universe is accelerating now and decelerated in the recent past. This may be the evidence of the breakdown of the standard Friemann equation. We consider a general…
The timescape cosmology has been proposed as a viable alternative to homogeneous cosmologies with dark energy. It realises cosmic acceleration as an apparent effect that arises in calibrating average cosmological parameters in the presence…
We consider an inhomogeneous but spherically symmetric Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi model to demonstrate that spatial variations of the expansion rate can have a significant effect on the cosmological supernova observations. A model with no dark…
We propose a method to probe the phenomenological nature of dark energy which makes no assumptions about the evolution of its energy density. We exemplify this method with a test for a super-acceleration phase of the universe i.e., a phase…
Dark energy and the accelerated expansion of the universe have been the direct predictions of the distant supernovae Ia observations which are also supported, indirectly, by the observations of the CMB anisotropies, gravitational lensing…