Matter bound from a Friedmann bounce 2026-10-14
In a dust-plus-cosmological-constant universe with an FRW metric with , a nondegenerate minimum at has and . Combining these conditions with gives the strict version of the displayed bound; equality is the limiting stationary case. A source at cosmological redshift requires , so a high-redshift source bounds the allowed present matter density parameter even without directly observing the bounce.
Matter density parameter Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
The matter density parameter is the ratio of total nonrelativistic matter density, including baryonic and dark matter, to the critical density at the same epoch. A present-epoch value uses and . It is not the total cosmological density parameter when radiation or vacuum energy also contributes.
The cosmological principle permits a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric. The Friedmann equation, with vanishing cosmological constant, isFor separately conserved pressureless matter, the cosmological continuity equation gives : its rest energy is conserved while its physical volume grows as . Define the present critical density and matter density parameter byEvaluating the Friedmann equation today gives . Thus the model has negative spatial curvature of an FLRW universe; the second contribution to represents that spatial curvature of an FLRW universe, rather than another material fluid. Taking the expanding branch givesHere . At early times, , matter domination gives , hence, measuring cosmic time from the Big Bang,At late times the term dominates the Friedmann equation. This curvature-dominated universe has and thereforeThe late expansion approaches the coasting Milne model. The early limit belongs to this idealized matter-only model; including radiation in cosmology would alter the sufficiently early evolution.
The matter density parameter at general scale factor isThe reference to the definition of in the printed part points to the wrong equation number: the needed definition is the substitution in part (b). Write , so , , andExpanding the matter growth equation as a function of scale factor first givesUsing and dividing by , we obtainwhere these primes denote derivatives with respect to . For the proposed linear cosmological density perturbation ,The left side of the differential equation, divided by , has numeratorover the common denominator . This proves the result directly. Also for every , so it is a decaying mode:It is proportional to the Hubble parameter, an instance of the Hubble parameter as a solution of the dust growth equation.
To construct the regular open dust linear growth mode, use reduction of order, writing and denoting the coefficient of by . Since solves the homogeneous linear differential equation, its terms cancel and leaveThe integrating factor for this first-order equation in is , soChoose and the lower integration endpoint zero. This selects the mode regular at early times without adding a multiple of :Its Wronskian with is , proving linear independence.
No explicit antiderivative is needed for the limits. For , the integrand is , whence its integral is . For , the integrand tends to one, so its integral divided by tends to one, while . ConsequentlyEarly matter domination permits gravitational instability to amplify the density contrast in proportion to the scale factor. Later, the matter density parameter tends to zero and Hubble friction suppresses further amplification. Indeed, for , neglecting the matter source in the linear matter perturbation growth equation gives , whose modes are a constant and . These agree with the late limits of the two exact modes.
Let be the normalized galaxy probability density per unit cosmological redshift, , and let be its linear galaxy bias. In a spatially flat background with , . Thus the projected galaxy density contrast isso its radial kernel is . The cosmological Poisson equation in Fourier transform variables givesHere denotes today's matter density parameter, not its time-dependent value. For a growing linear cosmological density perturbation, write , where is the linear growth factor, and define the logarithmic linear growth rate . At fixed comoving coordinate,ConsequentlyIn particular, during matter domination makes the linear potential constant and eliminates this Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect.
To use the supplied Limber approximation without hiding its scale dependence in a radial kernel, take , , , and . The corresponding three-dimensional cross-power spectrum iswhere is the matter power spectrum. Substitution givesThe Limber approximation relation cancels , yieldingBoth powers of are necessary: one converts the redshift selection to a distance kernel, and the other differentiates the potential in conformal time. The factor two in the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect cancels the factor from the cosmological Poisson equation. For positive galaxy bias and , the predicted correlation is positive: an overdense region whose negative potential becomes shallower gives a positive integrated temperature shift. The result assumes linear, scale-independent growth and the Newtonian cosmological Poisson equation; the Limber approximation becomes less accurate at the very lowest angular multipoles.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 41 1 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A Type Ia supernova can be standardized as a standard candle by correcting its peak brightness using the light curve shape and colour index. Its host spectrum gives the redshift; the corrected apparent magnitude and calibrated absolute magnitude give the distance modulusThe resulting Hubble diagram measures the shape of the luminosity distance as a function of redshift. A spatially flat matter-and-vacuum model, for example, predictsNonzero cosmological spatial curvature changes both the expansion rate and the conversion from radial to transverse comoving distance. Comparing the observed Hubble diagram with these predictions constrains the matter density parameter, cosmological constant and cosmological spatial curvature; a single low-redshift observation cannot separate them. The nearby sample calibrates the common intercept, while distant Type Ia supernovae supply the redshift-dependent shape. Relative faintness at a specified redshift means a greater inferred luminosity distance.
Type Ia supernova cosmology requires correction for interstellar extinction, possible evolution of the standardized luminosity, and selection bias. The absolute magnitude–Hubble constant degeneracy means that an uncalibrated sample constrains the shape rather than independently determining .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 66 1 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A genuine nondegenerate bounce has and ; using also includes the limiting stationary case. Put , and define the present matter density parameter , and . The dust-plus-cosmological-constant Friedmann equation and its acceleration equation becomeAt the bounce these giveFor a past bounce with , eliminate from the first equation:Subtracting and multiplying by the positive denominator givesThus the matter bound from a Friedmann bounce isStrict positive bounce acceleration makes this inequality strict. The zero of the Friedmann equation also requires positive curvature for positive matter and positive .
An observed source at has . Since the minimum scale factor cannot exceed the scale factor at emission, . The denominator of the bound increases with positive , soThe observational lower bound is much larger. Cluster mass-to-light ratios, inferred independently from motions, gas temperatures and gravitational lensing, combined with the observed luminosity density imply substantial cosmic mass density. Measurements of the cosmic baryon fraction from representative clusters, combined with the baryon cosmological density parameter inferred from Big Bang nucleosynthesis, provide another estimate: . Large-scale clustering and peculiar velocities provide independent dynamical checks, although their interpretation must account for galaxy bias. These methods support matter densities of order a few tenths, rather than below one percent. The dust-plus-cosmological-constant bouncing model is incompatible with both a quasar at redshift six and the stated observational evidence for .
