Hubble parameter Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Hubble parameter is the instantaneous fractional rate of cosmic expansion:
where the dot is a derivative with respect to cosmic time. Thus a short interval changes any fixed-comoving proper distance in cosmology by the fraction . Its dimensions are inverse time; describes expansion and contraction. The Hubble parameter identity gives .
Use units , and write for the Hubble parameter, with dots denoting cosmic time. Differentiating the Friedmann equation gives
On an interval where , use the Hubble parameter identity and the Friedmann acceleration equation to find
Substitution cancels the curvature term and gives the continuity equation
The cosmological perfect-fluid continuity equation extends by continuity through a regular isolated turning point. Physically it states that the change of energy in a comoving volume is the negative of the pressure work: .
For separately conserved cosmological fluids, each component obeys this equation individually. A constant equation-of-state parameter therefore gives
where the present scale factor is normalized to . Thus the component density laws are
The extra factor for radiation in cosmology is the cosmological redshift of each photon's energy; pressureless matter has only number dilution, while the specified dark energy is a cosmological constant.
The critical density at a given expansion rate is the total density that makes the spatial curvature vanish:
These cosmological density parameters use the critical density at that same time. Put and . The Friedmann equation yields
Consequently the fractional-density evolution, rather than just the component-density evolution, is
In particular . The simple powers of alone apply to , or to , not to the instantaneous cosmological density parameters. At a recollapse turning point , those instantaneous ratios are undefined even though the component densities remain finite.
Use units and cosmic time . Define the Hubble parameter , the equation-of-state parameter , and the cosmological density parameter
Here is the critical density. The definition requires ; assume positive energy density and an expanding branch so that is a valid time coordinate. The Friedmann equation gives . The Friedmann acceleration equation and Hubble parameter identity give
Differentiating the Friedmann equation and combining with this identity yields the cosmological perfect-fluid continuity equation . Consequently
Thus the cosmological density parameter flow is
This identity allows time-dependent ; constancy is needed only for the simple power-law integration in the next part.
Since , differentiation gives the Hubble parameter identity
Subtracting the given Friedmann equation from the Raychaudhuri equation therefore yields
On the other hand, differentiating the Friedmann equation gives
Substitute and divide by , which is permitted by the assumption . The result is the homogeneous inflaton equation of motion
The middle term is Hubble friction.