I have covered a number of alternative theories that do away with the idea that the universe is
expanding and dark matter but these theories are considered fringe theories so when I came
across an article published by the Institute of Physics which proposes that expansion,
redshift and dark matter were all an illusion I just had to dive in.
Scientist are convinced that the Universe is expanding due to the observed redshift and
it appears from recent observations that the expansion is accelerating.
The hypothesis of the expansion of the universe comes with a few major problems:
The cosmological constant problem is one of the most significant unsolved mysteries
in theoretical physics and cosmology. It revolves around the cosmological constant,
denoted by the Greek letter Λ (lambda), which is a fundamental
parameter in the equations of general relativity proposed by Albert Einstein.
In the context of general relativity, the cosmological constant represents a form
of dark energy associated with empty space. It introduces a repulsive force
that counteracts the attractive force of gravity, leading to an accelerated
expansion of the universe. In Einstein's equations, Λ is typically introduced
as a constant term that remains fixed throughout the history of the universe.
The problem arises due to a stark discrepancy between the theoretical prediction of the
cosmological constant's value and its observed one, which is inferred from
the accelerated expansion of the universe that was discovered in the late 1990s.
In quantum field theory, which describes the fundamental particles and their interactions,
various contributions to the vacuum energy (energy of empty space) arise
from virtual particles constantly popping in and out of existence.
When these contributions are calculated, they result in an enormous predicted value for the
cosmological constant, approximately 120 orders of magnitude larger than the observed value.
The coincidence problem. The energy density of matter in itself poses a deep physical puzzle. In
the lambda dark matter model it is dominated by what they term dark matter that despite
millions of dollars of funding has remained stubbornly elusive dare I say non-existent.
The matter-antimatter asymmetry problem, also known as the baryon asymmetry problem.
It concerns the observed dominance of matter over antimatter in the universe,
despite the expectation that they should have been produced in equal amounts
during the early stages of the universe's formation. Why is there an overwhelming
abundance of matter in the universe and an almost complete absence of antimatter?
On top of this are a number of observational discrepancies as well:
The tension between the cosmic expansion rate, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and the
local distance ladder. This tension arises from the apparent discrepancies in the measurements of
the Hubble constant (H0) using different methods. The Hubble constant is a fundamental parameter in
cosmology that quantifies the current rate of expansion of the universe. The local distance
ladder is a series of methods used to measure distances to nearby galaxies and cosmic objects.
The tension arises when the values of the Hubble constant measured using
different methods do not agree within their uncertainties. For many years,
the value of the Hubble constant derived from the CMB observations appeared to be
in slight tension with the value obtained from the local distance ladder measurements.
The CMB provides information about the early universe and its evolution,
allowing scientists to infer the Hubble constant indirectly.
On the other hand, the local distance ladder methods provide direct measurements of H0
from relatively nearby galaxies. In recent years, the precision of these measurements
has improved significantly, leading to a more apparent tension between the two results.
Then there is the discrepancy between the current amplitude of large-scale
matter density fluctuations inferred from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and
those measured with large-scale structure (LSS) surveys. This
discrepancy is often referred to as the "sigma-8 tension" .
The amplitude of matter density fluctuations,
often represented by the parameter sigma-8 (σ8), is one of the cosmological parameters
inferred from the CMB. Sigma-8 describes the amplitude of density fluctuations on
scales of about 8 megaparsecs, which is on the order of galaxy cluster scales.
Large-scale structure surveys involve observing the distribution of galaxies
and galaxy clusters on much larger scales than the CMB. These surveys provide a 3D
map of the distribution of matter in the universe at relatively recent cosmic times.
The sigma-8 tension arises because the values of sigma-8 inferred from the CMB data and
those measured from large-scale structure surveys seem to be in slight disagreement.
And then there is the evidence from James Webb which seems to
show impossibly large early galaxies.
=========== Now that's enough
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Now let's get back to looking at an alternative to the expansion of the universe.
Lucas Lombriser is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Geneva. He has
proposed a novel new approach. Rather than come up with a brand new theory
he proposes casting cosmology into different spacetime geometries as a simple mathematical
manipulation that leaves physical measurements unaffected but can reveal new physical insights.
The article identifies a number of applications from this formalism
but emphasis that the discussion should serve as inspiration for further work.
The first is that the Universe is not expanding. It is flat and
static. The observed redshifts to distant galaxies are interpreted
as the evolution of particle masses rather than an expanding universe.
Fields that permeate space-time give rise to these particles. The cosmological constant is set by
this field. Due to fluctuations in the field the masses of the particles it creates also fluctuate.
These variations in mass over time are the reason for the variations in the cosmological constant.
The transformation into different geometries can be performed even in the presence of spatial
curvature. Spacial curvature could then be interpreted as varying length scales.
Cosmic structures and gravitational waves can be viewed as distortions and oscillations of mass,
length, and times scales or alternatively those
distortions could also be interpreted as variations in the speed of light.
Geometric candidates for dark matter and dark energy also emerge naturally.
One such interpretation is through the evolving particle masses that
diverge and converge with the proceeding age of the Universe.
It should also be apparent that there is nothing particularly new in the ideas presented in
this paper. Narlikar and Hoyle came up with a theory that generalised the equation of general
relativity so that the particle mass varied with their age. Their model was also steady state,
had no expansion, no dark matter and specifically addresses the question of matter creation.
We have also previously looked at Einstein's concept for a variable
speed of light as the fundamental formulation of his theory so it
is interesting to see this pop out as a consequence of the transformations.
At this stage it is just a discussion paper but it
would be interesting to see how other cosmologists react to it.
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