Radiation domination

During radiation domination in a flat expanding universe, $a(t)\propto t^{1/2}$ and $H=1/(2t)$.

The Mészáros effect is the suppression of subhorizon cold-dark-matter growth during radiation domination. The growing solution is only logarithmic until matter-radiation equality.

In a flat universe containing pressureless matter and smooth radiation in cosmology, put $y=a/a_{\mathrm{eq}}$ and $C=H_0^2{\Omega }_{m,0}^2/{\Omega }_{r,0}$. The Friedmann equation gives ${\mathcal{H}}^2=C(1+y)/y^2$, so $y^{\prime 2}=C(1+y)$ and $y^{\prime \prime }=C/2$. The subhorizon cosmological Poisson equation gives ${\delta }^{\prime \prime }+\mathcal{H}{\delta }^{\prime }=3C\delta /(2y)$. The chain rule produces the displayed equation. Smoothing radiation neglects its rapid acoustic forcing after horizon entry; it is not an exact treatment of all radiation perturbations.

A basis of the solution space of a homogeneous linear differential equation for the Mészáros equation on $y>0$ isSubstitution verifies both solutions; their Wronskian is $-1/[y\sqrt{1+y}]$, so they are independent. At small $y$, $D_{+}=1+O(y)$ and $D_{-}=\log (4/y)-3+O(y\log y)$. At large $y$, $D_{+}\sim 3y/2$ and $D_{-}\sim 4/(15y^{3/2})$. Matching the actual early-time radiation forcing determines which constant and logarithmic combination is excited.