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We study the impact of the expansion of the universe on a broad class of objects, including black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and others. Using metrics that incorporate primordial inhomogeneities, the effects of a hypothetical "center of the universe" on inflation are calculated. Dynamic coordinates for black holes that account for expansions or contractions with arbitrary rates are provided. We consider the possibility that the universe may be bound to evolve into an ultimate state of "total dilution", wherein stable particles are so widely separated that physical communication among them will be impossible for eternity. This is also a scenario of "cosmic virtuality", as no wave-function collapse would occur again. We provide classical models evolving this way, based on the Majumdar–Papapetrou geometries. More realistic configurations, instead, indicate that gravitational forces locally counteract expansion, except in the universe's early stages. We comment on whether quantum phenomena may dictate that total dilution is indeed the cosmos' ultimate destiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on thermodynamic calculations of the substantial Universe, it is shown that the cosmological theory of the Big Bang is erroneous. The thermodynamic ban on this theory makes the hypothesis of dark energy expanding the substantial Universe also erroneous. It is shown that the substantial Universe is a thermodynamically equilibrium system. Therefore, the substantial Universe cannot disintegrate, losing its structure, cannot shrink to a point, cannot disappear into a black hole. The equilibrium substantial Universe exists forever, preserving its enthalpy, entropy, mass and temperature. The main reason for the redshift of spectral lines of light from distant stars and galaxies is not the expansion of the substantial Universe, but its clouds of gas and dust, which reduce the energy of photons.

We study the impact of the expansion of the universe on a broad class of objects, including black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and others. Using metrics that incorporate primordial inhomogeneities, the effects of a hypothetical “center of the universe” on inflation are calculated. Dynamic coordinates for black holes that account for expansions or contractions with arbitrary rates are provided. We consider the possibility that the universe may be bound to evolve into an ultimate state of “total dilution”, wherein stable particles are so widely separated that physical communication among them will be impossible for eternity. This is also a scenario of “cosmic virtuality”, as no wave-function collapse would occur again. We provide classical models evolving this way, based on the Majumdar–Papapetrou geometries. More realistic configurations, instead, indicate that gravitational forces locally counteract expansion, except in the universe’s early stages. We comment on whether quantum phenomena may dictate that total dilution is indeed the cosmos’ ultimate destiny.

A new theory is presented to explain the expansion of the universe. The theory is based on the aether destructive theory of gravity, which states that gravity is due to aether destruction within all objects. In the case of an object such as the earth, aether is destroyed within the earth. Aether then accelerates into the earth from outer space, creating an accelerating aether flow into the earth. Any object, such as the moon, caught in this accelerating aether flow will be pushed towards the earth. This process is the fundamental cause of gravity. As a result of aether destruction, and no immediate replacement, aether density throughout the universe gradually decreases. This results in a gradual fall in the strength of gravity. All celestial objects are in orbit around other celestial objects. As the force of gravity falls, orbiting objects move away from each other in order to keep the balance between centrifugal and centripetal forces intact. We propose that this fall in gravitational strength is the cause of the expansion of the universe. The conditions and the reason for that fall caused by the aether dynamic are given. To understand our model, we suggest a study based on a closed group of selected celestial objects orbiting around one another, and the accelerating expansion of the universe is due to the weakening of the gravitational force between the selected objects and their center, which is later inferred between this center and the rest of the universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the Friedmann–Lemaitre–Robertson–Walker models (often FLRW models) with time varying G and Λ in the general theory of relativity. In this communication the Einstein field equations have been solved by considering the deceleration parameter q(t) as a varying function of time t and the Hubble parameter H defined as q = - l (t - t 0) + β - 1 and q = - 1 + 2 α (H - 1) H , where l , t 0 , β , α are non-negative constants. We have analyzed the values of different constants that will generate a transition for the universe from an early decelerating phase to a recent acceleration phase. The physical and graphic behaviour have also been planned to study in this communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1823 German astronomer Henrich Wilhelm Olbers formulated a theoretical question regarding the darkness of the night sky. Assuming an infinite universe, permeated by infinite stars, Olbers pondered on how could the night sky be dark. Modernly this question is known as the Olbers Paradox. Multiple explanations have been offered since its formulation, and some of the explanations are no longer valid or are incomplete. Only in the light of the most recent theories and astronomical observations of the 20th century can this apparent paradox be resolved. The objective of this article is to list the most relevant observational evidence that helps to clarify Olbers' Paradox. By addressing the latest discoveries in astronomy and theoretical physics, we seek to provide a comprehensive overview of the reasons why the night sky is brighter and richer in radiation than initially supposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Big Bang is the most accepted theory of how the Universe was born. However, this theory explains only the development of the Universe, not its origination. This paper develops two main ideas: a) that a strong philosophical approach encourages innovative thinking through the sharing of new scientific enlightenment, and b) the origination of “something” from “nothing” without violating the conservation laws. The second idea underlies our Universal Theory of Origination (UTO). The Universe has evolved on cosmological, physical, biological, psychological, and intellectual (human) levels. Our UTO explains how upper-level substances originate from lower-level substances. The origination of the physical level based on the origination of the biological level is described stepwise using a unitary law. We also provide a scope for understanding the origination of the biological, psychological, and intellectual levels. Our hypothesis is supported by a) well-known formal research and experiments, and b) an inference proof that nature behaves in a unitary way from one level to another. In the UTO, a fact can be displaced to another level by changing only the adjectives. A known aspect at one level can be interpreted on another level, giving rise to unknown truths. This work provides the basis of UTO, in turn resolving many open questions such as the origination of the physical world, space expansion, expansion acceleration, looking back in time, and the differences between galaxies.

In this paper, a periodic cosmological model is considered. Previously, it was assumed that the expansion of the universe slows down over time. Theorists proceeded from the assumption that the main part of the mass of the Universe is matter - both visible and invisible (dark matter). On the basis of new observations indicating the acceleration of expansion, it was found that in the Universe there is a previously unknown energy with negative pressure (equation of state). They called it "dark energy". In this paper, a scalar cosmological model is considered. The Lagrangian is derived and the system of equations of motion is obtained. To study the model, a scalar field in the form of a periodic function was chosen. The Hubble parameter, the scale factor, which has the meaning of the radius of the Universe, and in the case of a periodic function of the scalar field, which has an exponential dependence, the density of dark energy, the pressure and the potential of the scalar field are calculated, and their graphs are plotted in the time dependence section from 0 to 2π. To study the inflationary model, the potential is introduced in a power-law form. From it, the parameters of slow rolling through e-folding are derived and a plot of spectral indices for this model is plotted. The results obtained are consistent with the Planck observational data and confirm the correspondence of the model under study with the previously proposed ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows that the commonly used Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric describing the expanding Universe must be modified to properly predict the cosmological redshift. It is proved that the change in the frequency of redshifted photons is always connected with time dilation, similarly as for the gravitational redshift. Therefore, the cosmic time runs differently at high redshifts than at present. Consequently, the cosmological time must be identified with the conformal time and the standard FLRW metric must be substituted by its conformal version. The correctness of the proposed conformal metric is convincingly confirmed by Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observations. The standard FLRW metric produces essential discrepancy with the SNe Ia observations called the ‘supernova dimming’, and dark energy has to be introduced to comply theoretical predictions with data. By contrast, the conformal FLRW metric fits data well with no need to introduce any new free parameter. Hence, the discovery of the supernova dimming actually revealed a failure of the FLRW metric and introducing dark energy was just an unsuccessful attempt to cope with the problem within this false metric. Obviously, adopting the conformal FLRW metric for describing the evolution of the Universe has many fundamental cosmological consequences.

We find an exact convergence in the local dynamics described by two supposedly antagonistic approaches applied at the local, solar system scale: one starting from an expanding universe perspective such as FLRW, the other based on a local model ignoring any notion of expansion, such as static Schwarzschild dS. Both models are in complete agreement when the local effects of the expansion are circumscribed to the presence of the cosmological constant. We elaborate on the relevant role of static backgrounds like the Schwarzschild-dS metric in standard form as the most proper coordinatizations to describe physics at the local scale. We also elaborate on the popular expanding 3-space picture—to be distinguished from that of the expanding universe—and point out the confusion of scales which is typically associated with it. Finally, making use of an old and too often forgotten relativistic kinematical invariant, we address some remaining misunderstandings on space expansion, cosmological and gravitational redshifts. As a byproduct we propose a unique and unambiguous prescription to match the local and cosmological expression of a specific observable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 20th century witnessed two great cosmological discoveries: The Cosmic Background Radiation corresponding to a black body temperature T = 2.275 K, and the expansion of the universe expressed by the cosmological version of Hubble's empirical law of 1929. In this paper we propose a pedagogical reconstruction in class of the original Hubble's law with a hands-on approach making use of modern resources freely available on the web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on the ontological status of spacetime in General Relativity has historically seen two principal philosophical contenders: substantivalism, roughly the view that holds that spacetime exists apart from the material contents of the universe, and relationism, the doctrine that spacetime does not exist, i.e., it is a mere abstract web of spatiotemporal relations among bodies. This dispute, however, has rarely been fought on a cosmological battlefield. In this paper an attempt in this direction is made. The question at issue is the following: is there any feature of our universe that requires or is best explained in terms of a substantival space? I claim that there is indeed: the expansion of the universe, perhaps the most important phenomenon in cosmology, can play such a role.

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Alexander Friedmann, Carl Wilhelm Wirtz, Vesto Slipher, Knut E. Lundmark, Willem de Sitter, Georges H. Lemaître, and Edwin Hubble all contributed to the discovery of the expansion of the universe. If only two persons are to be ranked as the most important ones for the general acceptance of the expansion of the universe, the historical evidence points at Lemaître and Hubble, and the proper answer to the question, “Who discovered the expansion of the universe?”, is Georges H. Lemaître.

In a series of papers, Santilli and collaborators released various strong statements against the general theory of relativity (GTR) and the standard ΛCDM model of cosmology. In this paper we show that such claims are due to misunderstandings of basic concepts of gravitation and cosmology. In particular, we show that Santilli and collaborators demonstrated neither that the GTR is wrong, nor that the Universe is not expanding. We also show that the so-called iso-gravitation theory (IGT) of Santilli is in macroscopic contrast with geodesic motion and, in turn, with the Equivalence Principle (EP) and must therefore be ultimately rejected. Finally, we show that, although the so called iso-redshift could represent an interesting alternative (similar to the tired light theory historically proposed by Zwicky) to the Universe expansion from a qualitative point of view, it must be rejected from a quantitative point of view because the effect of iso-redshift is 10 smaller than the effect requested to achieve the cosmological redshift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to the common approach of the general relativity, the author uses his invariant integral of physical mesomechanics to model and study the universe at the large scale of about 100 MPc in the Euclidian space. The flatness of the universe proven by numerous probes of the WMAP and PLANCK satellite missions necessitates this approach. From the invariant integral of cosmology, the interaction force of two point masses in the cosmic-gravitational field is derived. This force is proven to be a sum of two terms, the one being the Newtonian gravity and the other the repulsion force caused by the cosmological constant. Both terms make up the right-hand part of the evolution equation of the dynamic universe. Qualitatively in agreement with the FLRW and ACDM models, and WMAP and PLANCK mission data, the exact solution of this equation has provided the history of the early decelerating universe and the asymptotic description of the Big Bang, the expansion at an almost constant rate in the middle age, and the current stage of the accelerated expansion of the universe. The age of the universe is found to be equal to 12.3 billion years. It is shown that neutron stars become stable Black Holes when their masses are greater than 6.7M. Then, it is assumed that the universe not only expands but also revolves, and the evolution equations of the revolving and expanding universe are advanced, with the cosmological constant being defined in terms of the angular velocity of the universe. A singular solution of these evolution equations has described the history of the revolving and expanding universe, at least, up to the age of about ten billion years. Orbital velocities of stars in the Milky Way are calculated to be about 250 km/s independent of the distance of stars from the galaxy center. Using the equation of the fractal dimension of the universe as a power-law fractal, the thickness of a disk-shaped universe is found. The graviton of minimum frequency is hypothesized to be the smallest elementary particle and the building block of everything. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I develop the idea that there exists a special dimension of depth, or of scale. The depth dimension is physically real and extends from the bottom micro-level to the ultimate macro-level of the Universe. The depth dimension, or the scales axis, complements the standard three spatial dimensions. I discuss the tentative qualities of the depth dimension and the universal arrangement of matter along this dimension. I suggest that all matter in the Universe, at least in the present cosmological epoch, is in joint downward motion along the depth dimension. The joint downward motion manifests itself in the universal contraction of matter. The opposite direction of motion, upward the dimension, would cause the expansion of matter. The contraction of matter is a primary factor, whereas the shrinking of space in the vicinity of matter is a derivative phenomenon. The observed expansion of the Universe is explained by the fact that celestial bodies become smaller due to matter contraction, while the overall space remains predominantly intact. Thus, relative to the contracting material bodies, the total span of cosmic space appears to be becoming vaster. I attempt to explain how the contraction of matter engenders the effect of universal gravity. I use over thirty animated and graphical color visualizations in the text to make the explanation of the proposed ideas more lucid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we will talk about the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, granted to the astrophysicists Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam Guy Riess, by the discovery of the expansion of the Universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the final paper in a five-paper series describing our national study of the teaching and learning of cosmology in general education astronomy college-level courses. A significant portion of this work was dedicated to the development of five new Lecture-Tutorials that focus on addressing the conceptual and reasoning difficulties that our research shows students have with frequently taught cosmology topics, such as the expansion of the universe, the Big Bang, and dark matter. We conducted a systematic investigation of the implementation of these new Lecture-Tutorials and resulting learning gains in order to test the efficacy of these new Lecture-Tutorials. Our investigation included classroom observations, results from pre–post testing using four conceptual cosmology surveys, and comparisons between classes in terms of the class time spent on cosmology topics and other instructional strategies used to teach cosmology. We used this combination of qualitative and quantitative research results to evaluate the conceptual understandings of students who used the new cosmology Lecture-Tutorials compared to those students who did not. The analysis of our data shows that, in many cases, classrooms that used the cosmology Lecture-Tutorials saw a greater increase in their students’ conceptual cosmology knowledge compared to classrooms that did not use the cosmology Lecture-Tutorials. However, our results also indicate how instructors implement the Lecture-Tutorials into their classrooms strongly influences their students’ learning gains. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A special class of type Ia supernovae that is not subject to ordinary and additional intragalactic gray absorption and chemical evolution has been identified. Analysis of the Hubble diagrams constructed for these supernovae confirms the accelerated expansion of the Universe irrespective of the chemical evolution and possible gray absorption in galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this activity is to model the expansion of the universe by investigating the behavior of water waves. It is designed for students in the upper grades of physics and physical science who are learning about the wave nature of light and are ready to discover such important questions about science. The article explains first the Doppler effect through water waves and then extends to how to interpret light waves coming from other galaxies. Therefore, in addition to raising the scientific curiosity of the students, this activity also gives them an understanding of the hypothesis-evidence relation and the interpretation of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Doppler effect of the neutrino oscillation length in the flat space is discussed. When the observer travels away from the source, the oscillation length decreases. Moreover, the mass neutrino oscillation in the Robertson-Walker metric is studied, and the general equations of the oscillation phases are given. We obtain the relation between the phase and the scale factor. The expansion of the universe leads to the reduction of the oscillation length (blue shift), which is contrary to the red shift of the light ray. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to suggest a new avenue to explore the nonintuitive meaning of space and time by investigating into their roles in the description of reality. The central idea is to look at the space-time manifold as a “multiplication space,” enabling the plurality of the fundamental entities in the universe. The “points” of this space are the roots of an ontological structure of infinite order [Y. Z. Shoshani, Introduction to Formal Ontology (Philosophy of the Natural Sciences), Proceedings of the 13th International Wittgenstein Symposium (V.H.P. Temfky, Vienna, 1989), pp. 202–209; Phys. Essays 4, 566 (1991); Phys. Essays 11, 512 (1998)]. I will show that such a description resolves basic philosophical problems associated with the intuitive grasp of space-time. It also yields a more coherent image of reality in which the fundamental entities and the points of space-time emerge from the same origin. Some interesting physical implications from this theory will be discussed, including the exponential expansion of the universe, a result compatible with the de Sitter solution of Einstein field equations in empty space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many features of the expanding universe, which should be legitimately discussed using general relativity, can be sneaked in by using Newtonian physics in an expanding coordinate system. In this special issue on Hubble, I describe several of these features along with some cautionary comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the possibility of the influences of additional dimensions on the dynamics of the expansion of our Universe. It is shown that this influence is expressed only through the anisotropy parameter of additional dimensions. In the isotropic (in relation to additional dimensions) case the dynamics of our world remains constant. All calculations were carried out for a single-component ideal fluid with power diagonal metrics. The dynamic characteristics of the scale factor have allowed us to draw a conclusion about the physical nature of the initial substance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We propose a classical mechanism for the cosmic expansion during the radiation-dominated era. This mechanism assumes that the Universe is a two-component gas. The first component is a gas of ultra-relativistic “normal” particles described by an equation of state of an ideal quantum gas of massless particles. The second component consist of “unusual” charged particles (namely, either with ultra-high charge or with ultra-high mass) that provide the important mechanism of expansion due to their interaction with the “normal” component of the gas. This interaction is described by the Reissner–Nordström metric purely geometrically – the “unusual” particles are modeled as zero-dimensional naked singularities inside spheres of gravitational repulsion. The radius of a repulsive sphere is inversely proportional to the energy of an incoming particle or the temperature. The expansion mechanism is based on the inflating of the “unusual” particles (of charge Q) with the drop of the temperature – this drives apart all neutral particles and particles of specific charge q/m such that sign(Q)q/m ⩾−1. The Reissner–Nordström expansion naturally ends at recombination. We discuss the range of model parameters within which the proposed expansion mechanism is consistent with the restrictions regarding quantum effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In two preceding articles [Thierry Delort, Phys. Essays 13, 573 (2000); 17, 259 (2004)] we exposed fundamental elements of the theory of ether (TE). In this article we propose a deepened study of phenomena linked to astrophysics according to the TE. This article follows the second article above, and it is necessary to have read it before reading the present article. In particular, we study, according to the TE, the observations concerning a supernova presented in Perlmutter et al. [Nature 391, 51 (1998)], the evaluation of distances in the universe, the temperature in the universe, and the factors that we must take into account in order to obtain the age of the universe using Hubble's law. We also study the gravitational field and the topology of the universe. We also add complements concerning kinematics and optics. We interpret Fizeau's experiment by the TE and we give a comparison between the TE and special relativity. So this article proposes some new fundamental ideas brought by the TE concerning astrophysics and in particular the expansion of the universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to general relativity, the Maxwell-like theory of gravitation implies negative gravitational energy in vacuum and in gravitational waves. In order to really retrieve Newton's theory in a first approximation, general relativity should exhibit this negativeness. For this purpose, a new pseudoscalar density is derived from the usual Lagrangian of gravitation by subtraction of a divergence. In agreement with the expansion of the universe, this approach supports the "explosive" formation of galaxies and the existence of jet streams apparently emitted from black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexander Friedmann, Carl Wilhelm Wirtz, Vesto Slipher, Knut E. Lundmark, Willem de Sitter, Georges H. Lemaître, and Edwin Hubble all contributed to the discovery of the expansion of the universe. If only two persons are to be ranked as the most important ones for the general acceptance of the expansion of the universe, the historical evidence points at Lemaître and Hubble, and the proper answer to the question, "Who discovered the expansion of the universe?", is Georges H. Lemaître. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]