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In modern physical cosmology, the cosmological principle is the notion that the spatial distribution of matter in the universe is uniformly isotropic and homogeneous when viewed on a large enough scale, since the forces are expected to act equally throughout the universe on a large scale, and should, therefore, produce no observable inequalities in the large-scale structuring over the course of evolution of the matter field that was initially laid down by the Big Bang.
Astronomer William Keel explains:
The cosmological principle is usually stated formally as 'Viewed on a sufficiently large scale, the properties of the universe are the same for all observers.' This amounts to the strongly philosophical statement that the part of the universe which we can see is a fair sample, and that the same physical laws apply throughout. In essence, this in a sense says that the universe is knowable and is playing fair with scientists. [4]
The cosmological principle depends on a definition of "observer", and contains an implicit qualification and two testable consequences.
"Observers" means any observer at any location in the universe, not simply any human observer at any location on Earth: as Andrew Liddle puts it, "the cosmological principle [means that] the universe looks the same whoever and wherever you are." [5]
The qualification is that variation in physical structures can be overlooked, provided this does not imperil the uniformity of conclusions drawn from observation: the Sun is different from the Earth, our galaxy is different from a black hole, some galaxies advance toward rather than recede from us, and the universe has a "foamy" texture of galaxy clusters and voids, but none of these different structures appears to violate the basic laws of physics.
The two testable structural consequences of the cosmological principle are homogeneity and isotropy. Homogeneity – constant density – means that the same observational evidence is available to observers at different locations in the universe. Isotropy – same in all directions – means that the same observational evidence is available by looking in any direction in the universe. Isotropy implies homogeneity, but an homogeneous universe could be anisotropic. [6] : 65
The cosmological principle is first clearly asserted in the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687) of Isaac Newton.[ dubious – discuss ] In contrast to some earlier classical or medieval cosmologies, in which Earth rested at the center of universe, Newton conceptualized the Earth as a sphere in orbital motion around the Sun within an empty space that extended uniformly in all directions to immeasurably large distances. He then showed, through a series of mathematical proofs on detailed observational data of the motions of planets and comets, that their motions could be explained by a single principle of "universal gravitation" that applied as well to the orbits of the Galilean moons around Jupiter, the Moon around the Earth, the Earth around the Sun, and to falling bodies on Earth. That is, he asserted the equivalent material nature of all bodies within the Solar System, the identical nature of the Sun and distant stars and thus the uniform extension of the physical laws of motion to a great distance beyond the observational location of Earth itself.
Since the 1990s, observations assuming the cosmological principle have concluded that around 68% of the mass–energy density of the universe can be attributed to dark energy, which led to the development of the ΛCDM model. [7] [8] [9]
Observations show that more distant galaxies are closer together and have lower content of chemical elements heavier than lithium.[ citation needed ] Applying the cosmological principle, this suggests that heavier elements were not created in the Big Bang but were produced by nucleosynthesis in giant stars and expelled across a series of supernovae and new star formation from the supernova remnants, which means heavier elements would accumulate over time. Another observation is that the furthest galaxies (earlier time) are often more fragmentary, interacting and unusually shaped than local galaxies (recent time), suggesting evolution in galaxy structure as well.
A related implication of the cosmological principle is that the largest discrete structures in the universe are in mechanical equilibrium. Homogeneity and isotropy of matter at the largest scales would suggest that the largest discrete structures are parts of a single indiscrete form, like the crumbs which make up the interior of a cake. At extreme cosmological distances, the property of mechanical equilibrium in surfaces lateral to the line of sight can be empirically tested; however, under the assumption of the cosmological principle, it cannot be detected parallel to the line of sight (see timeline of the universe).
Cosmologists agree that in accordance with observations of distant galaxies, a universe must be non-static if it follows the cosmological principle. In 1923, Alexander Friedmann set out a variant of Albert Einstein's equations of general relativity that describe the dynamics of a homogeneous isotropic universe. [10] [11] Independently, Georges Lemaître derived in 1927 the equations of an expanding universe from the General Relativity equations. [12] Thus, a non-static universe is also implied, independent of observations of distant galaxies, as the result of applying the cosmological principle to general relativity.
Karl Popper criticized the cosmological principle on the grounds that it makes "our lack of knowledge a principle of knowing something". He summarized his position as:
Although the universe is inhomogeneous at smaller scales, according to the ΛCDM model it ought to be isotropic and statistically homogeneous on scales larger than 250 million light years. However, recent findings (the Axis of Evil for example) have suggested that violations of the cosmological principle exist in the universe and thus have called the ΛCDM model into question, with some authors suggesting that the cosmological principle is now obsolete and the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric breaks down in the late universe. [1]
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is predicted by the ΛCDM model to be isotropic, that is to say that its intensity is about the same whichever direction we look at. [14] Data from the Planck Mission shows hemispheric bias in 2 respects: one with respect to average temperature (i.e. temperature fluctuations), the second with respect to larger variations in the degree of perturbations (i.e. densities), [15] [16] the collaboration noted that these features are not strongly statistically inconsistent with isotropy. [17] Some authors say that the universe around Earth is isotropic at high significance by studies of the cosmic microwave background temperature maps. [18] There are however claims of isotropy violations from galaxy clusters, [2] [3] quasars, [19] and type Ia supernovae. [20]
The cosmological principle implies that at a sufficiently large scale, the universe is homogeneous. Based on N-body simulations in a ΛCDM universe, Yadav and his colleagues showed that the spatial distribution of galaxies is statistically homogeneous if averaged over scales of 260/h Mpc or more. [21]
A number of observations have been reported to be in conflict with predictions of maximal structure sizes:
However, as pointed out by Seshadri Nadathur in 2013 using statistical properties, [27] the existence of structures larger than the homogeneous scale (260/h Mpc by Yadav's estimation) [21] does not necessarily violate the cosmological principle in the ΛCDM model (see Huge-LQG § Dispute ). [28]
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides a snapshot of a largely isotropic and homogeneous universe. The largest scale feature of the CMB is the dipole anisotropy; it is typically subtracted from maps due to its large amplitude. The standard interpretation of the dipole is that it is due to the Doppler effect caused by the motion of the solar system with respect to the CMB rest-frame.
Several studies have reported dipoles in the large scale distribution of galaxies that align with the CMB dipole direction, but indicate a larger amplitude than would be caused by the CMB dipole velocity. [29] A similar dipole is seen in data of radio galaxies, however the amplitude of the dipole depends on the observing frequency showing that these anomalous features cannot be purely kinematic. [30] Other authors have found radio dipoles consistent with the CMB expectation. [31] Further claims of anisotropy along the CMB dipole axis have been made with respect to the Hubble diagram of type Ia supernovae [32] and quasars. [33] Separately, the CMB dipole direction has emerged as a preferred direction in some studies of alignments in quasar polarizations, [34] strong lensing time delay, [35] type Ia supernovae, [36] and standard candles. [37] Some authors have argued that the correlation of distant effects with the dipole direction may indicate that its origin is not kinematic.
Alternatively, Planck data has been used to estimate the velocity with respect to the CMB independently of the dipole, by measuring the subtle aberrations and distortions of fluctuations caused by relativistic beaming [38] and separately using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. [39] These studies found a velocity consistent with the value obtained from the dipole, indicating it is consistent with being entirely kinematic. Measurements of the velocity field of galaxies in the local universe show that on short scales galaxies are moving with the local group, and that the average mean velocity decreases with increasing distance. [40] This follows the expectation if the CMB dipole were due to the local peculiar velocity field, it becomes more homogeneous on large scales. Surveys of the local volume have been used to reveal a low density region in the opposite direction to the CMB dipole, [41] potentially explaining the origin of the local bulk flow.
The perfect cosmological principle is an extension of the cosmological principle, and states that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic in space and time. In this view the universe looks the same everywhere (on the large scale), the same as it always has and always will. The perfect cosmological principle underpins steady state theory and emerges[ clarification needed ] from chaotic inflation theory. [42] [43] [44]
The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. The concept of an expanding universe was scientifically originated by physicist Alexander Friedmann in 1922 with the mathematical derivation of the Friedmann equations. The earliest empirical observation of an expanding universe is known as Hubble's law, published in work by physicist Edwin Hubble in 1929, which discerned that galaxies are moving away from Earth at a rate that accelerates proportionally with distance. Independent of Friedmann's work, and independent of Hubble's observations, physicist Georges Lemaître proposed that the universe emerged from a "primeval atom" in 1931, introducing the modern notion of the Big Bang.
Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fundamental questions about its origin, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate. Cosmology as a science originated with the Copernican principle, which implies that celestial bodies obey identical physical laws to those on Earth, and Newtonian mechanics, which first allowed those physical laws to be understood.
In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation, or just inflation, is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the very early universe. Following the inflationary period, the universe continued to expand, but at a slower rate. The re-acceleration of this slowing expansion due to dark energy began after the universe was already over 7.7 billion years old.
In physical cosmology, the Copernican principle states that humans are not privileged observers of the universe, that observations from the Earth are representative of observations from the average position in the universe. Named for Copernican heliocentrism, it is a working assumption that arises from a modified cosmological extension of Copernicus' argument of a moving Earth.
The cosmic microwave background, or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dark. However, a sufficiently sensitive radio telescope detects a faint background glow that is almost uniform and is not associated with any star, galaxy, or other object. This glow is strongest in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1965 by American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s.
Hubble's law, also known as the Hubble–Lemaître law, is the observation in physical cosmology that galaxies are moving away from Earth at speeds proportional to their distance. In other words, the farther a galaxy is from the Earth, the faster it moves away. A galaxy's recessional velocity is typically determined by measuring its redshift, a shift in the frequency of light emitted by the galaxy.
In physical cosmology, the shape of the universe refers to both its local and global geometry. Local geometry is defined primarily by its curvature, while the global geometry is characterised by its topology. General relativity explains how spatial curvature is constrained by gravity. The global topology of the universe cannot be deduced from measurements of curvature inferred from observations within the family of homogeneous general relativistic models alone, due to the existence of locally indistinguishable spaces with varying global topological characteristics. For example; a multiply connected space like a 3 torus has everywhere zero curvature but is finite in extent, whereas a flat simply connected space is infinite in extent.
A non-standard cosmology is any physical cosmological model of the universe that was, or still is, proposed as an alternative to the then-current standard model of cosmology. The term non-standard is applied to any theory that does not conform to the scientific consensus. Because the term depends on the prevailing consensus, the meaning of the term changes over time. For example, hot dark matter would not have been considered non-standard in 1990, but would have been in 2010. Conversely, a non-zero cosmological constant resulting in an accelerating universe would have been considered non-standard in 1990, but is part of the standard cosmology in 2010.
Cosmic strings are hypothetical 1-dimensional topological defects which may have formed during a symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe when the topology of the vacuum manifold associated to this symmetry breaking was not simply connected.
The Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric is a metric that describes a homogeneous, isotropic, expanding universe that is path-connected, but not necessarily simply connected. The general form of the metric follows from the geometric properties of homogeneity and isotropy; Einstein's field equations are only needed to derive the scale factor of the universe as a function of time. Depending on geographical or historical preferences, the set of the four scientists – Alexander Friedmann, Georges Lemaître, Howard P. Robertson and Arthur Geoffrey Walker – are variously grouped as Friedmann, Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW), Robertson–Walker (RW), or Friedmann–Lemaître (FL). This model is sometimes called the Standard Model of modern cosmology, although such a description is also associated with the further developed Lambda-CDM model. The FLRW model was developed independently by the named authors in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the fields of Big Bang theory and cosmology, reionization is the process that caused electrically neutral atoms in the universe to reionize after the lapse of the "dark ages". Detecting and studying the reionization process is challenging but multiple avenues have been pursued. This reionization was driven by the formation of the first stars and galaxies.
The Lambda-CDM, Lambda cold dark matter, or ΛCDM model is a mathematical model of the Big Bang theory with three major components:
An inhomogeneous cosmology is a physical cosmological theory which, unlike the dominant cosmological concordance model, assumes that inhomogeneities in the distribution of matter across the universe affect local gravitational forces enough to skew our view of the Universe. When the universe began, matter was distributed homogeneously, but over billions of years, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and superclusters coalesced. Einstein's theory of general relativity states that they warp the space-time around them.
The CMB Cold Spot or WMAP Cold Spot is a region of the sky seen in microwaves that has been found to be unusually large and cold relative to the expected properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The "Cold Spot" is approximately 70 μK (0.00007 K) colder than the average CMB temperature, whereas the root mean square of typical temperature variations is only 18 μK. At some points, the "cold spot" is 140 μK colder than the average CMB temperature.
In physical cosmology, fractal cosmology is a set of minority cosmological theories which state that the distribution of matter in the Universe, or the structure of the universe itself, is a fractal across a wide range of scales. More generally, it relates to the usage or appearance of fractals in the study of the universe and matter. A central issue in this field is the fractal dimension of the universe or of matter distribution within it, when measured at very large or very small scales.
A large quasar group (LQG) is a collection of quasars that form what are thought to constitute the largest astronomical structures in the observable universe. LQGs are thought to be precursors to the sheets, walls and filaments of galaxies found in the relatively nearby universe.
The Huge Large Quasar Group, is a possible structure or pseudo-structure of 73 quasars, referred to as a large quasar group, that measures about 4 billion light-years across. At its discovery, it was identified as the largest and the most massive known structure in the observable universe, though it has been superseded by the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall at 10 billion light-years. There are also issues about its structure.
U1.11 is a large quasar group located in the constellations of Leo and Virgo. It is one of the largest LQG's known, with the estimated maximum diameter of 780 Mpc and contains 38 quasars. It was discovered in 2011 during the course of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Until the discovery of the Huge-LQG in November 2012, it was the largest known structure in the universe, beating Clowes–Campusano LQG's 20-year record as largest known structure at the time of its discovery.
The "axis of evil" is a name given to an unsubstantiated correlation between the plane of the Solar System and aspects of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It gives the plane of the Solar System and hence the location of Earth a greater significance than might be expected by chance – a result which has been claimed to be evidence of a departure from the Copernican principle. A 2016 study compared isotropic and anisotropic cosmological models against WMAP and Planck data and found no evidence for anisotropy.