Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / iii / Paper 66 / 1

The strongest evidence for large-scale cosmological isotropy is the nearly direction-independent blackbody temperature of the cosmic microwave background. After removing the dipole associated mainly with our peculiar velocity, its residual temperature fluctuations are of order $10^{-5}$. Nearly isotropic counts of distant radio sources and galaxies, after correcting for sky coverage and selection effects, provide independent evidence. Local galaxies, clusters and voids clearly are not isotropic structures; the claim concerns a statistical description on sufficiently large scales.

Large redshift surveys show that the mean galaxy density stabilizes as increasingly large volumes are sampled, and that the excess pair correlations weaken at large separations. This supports statistical homogeneity beyond the characteristic clustering scales. The consistency of large-scale observations in different directions and the success of a common FRW metric description are additional checks.

Isotropy around one observer does not alone prove spatial homogeneity: a radially varying distribution centered on that observer could look isotropic. The Copernican principle supplies the assumption that we occupy no preferred position; comparable isotropy about typical locations then supports the cosmological principle. Surveys observe a finite past light cone, with source evolution and selection, so they cannot establish homogeneity everywhere on a simultaneous spatial slice. The evidence supports large-scale statistical isotropy and homogeneity, with substantial small-scale structure and an explicit typical-observer assumption.

Use a radial null geodesic of the FRW metric in the form $d{s}^2=-d{t}^2+a(t{)}^{2}d{\chi }^2$ along a fixed spatial direction, with $c=1$. For an emitter and observer at fixed comoving coordinates, the comoving separation isApply this to two adjacent wave crests. Since their endpoint separation is the same, subtraction to first order gives $\delta t_o/a(t_o)=\delta t_e/a(t_e)$. These intervals are the local periods measured by the comoving observers, so the received wavelength is stretched by $a(t_o)/a(t_e)$. Consequently the cosmological redshift obeyswhen $a(t_o)=1$. This relation assumes comoving emitter and observer; additional peculiar velocities supply kinematic redshift factors.

A comoving coordinate labels a location in the expanding background and is constant for an object moving with the Hubble flow. For example, a radial comoving geodesic coordinate $\chi$ gives proper distance in cosmology $d(t)=a(t)\chi$ along the constant-cosmic-time slice. In a flat background one can write physical coordinates $\mathbf{r}=a(t)\mathbf{x}$ and split the physical velocity asThus proper distance in cosmology is measured using the spatial metric at a specified epoch, whereas a comoving distance factors out the overall expansion. A proper distance on a simultaneous spatial slice is not automatically the luminosity distance or a distance directly inferred from light received today. In a curved spatial geometry $a\chi$ is the radial proper distance, while the sphere's circumference involves the corresponding curved radial function.

The Friedmann acceleration equation gives the gravitational deceleration from a uniform pressureless matter density, plus the acceleration from a cosmological constant. Here $\rho$ is the matter mass density, $G$ is the gravitational constant, $H=\dot{a}/a$ is the Hubble parameter, and $k$ is the constant spatial-curvature coefficient in the chosen normalization of $a$. The Friedmann equation is the first integral relating expansion to density, curvature and vacuum energy. With $c=1$, the matter, curvature and cosmological-constant contributions to $H^2$ are $8\pi G\rho /3$, $-k/a^2$ and $\Lambda /3$. The cosmological constant has effective density $\Lambda /(8\pi G)$ and equation-of-state parameter $w=-1$; its negative pressure explains its positive acceleration contribution when $\Lambda >0$.

For the Newtonian derivation with $\Lambda =0$, follow a test mass on the edge of a uniform sphere of physical radius $R=a\chi$. Conservation of the enclosed matter gives $M=4\pi \rho R^3/3$ constant. The shell theorem removes the force of external spherical shells and givesIntegrating the force equation once gives the conserved specific mechanical energyDivide by $R^2/2=a^2{\chi }^2/2$ to obtainHomologous motion makes $\epsilon /{\chi }^2$ constant between shells. Newtonian mechanics supplies this energy integration constant; its interpretation as intrinsic spatial curvature belongs to the relativistic FRW metric.

An outward acceleration $\Lambda \mathbf{r}/3$ comes from the Newtonian potential per unit masssince $-\nabla {\Phi }_{\Lambda }=\Lambda \mathbf{r}/3$. With conventional dimensional $\Lambda$, restore $c^2$ in this potential and the corresponding acceleration and Friedmann terms.

A genuine nondegenerate bounce has ${\dot{a}}_{\ast }=0$ and ${\ddot{a}}_{\ast }>0$; using ${\ddot{a}}_{\ast }\ge 0$ also includes the limiting stationary case. Put $s=a_{\ast }^{-1}=1+z_{\ast }$, and define the present matter density parameter ${\Omega }_m=8\pi G{\rho }_0/(3H_0^2)$, ${\Omega }_{\Lambda }=\Lambda /(3H_0^2)$ and ${\Omega }_k=-k/H_0^2$. The dust-plus-cosmological-constant Friedmann equation and its acceleration equation becomeAt the bounce these giveFor a past bounce with $s>1$, eliminate ${\Omega }_k$ from the first equation:Subtracting ${\Omega }_m{s}^3/2$ 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 $\Lambda$.

An observed source at $z=6$ has $a_e=1/7$. Since the minimum scale factor cannot exceed the scale factor at emission, $z_{\ast }\ge 6$. The denominator of the bound increases with positive $z_{\ast }$, 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: ${\Omega }_m\simeq {\Omega }_b/f_b$. 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 ${\Omega }_m\gtrsim 0.2$.