Introduction to Astrophysics
Lecture 11
Newtonian Cosmology
Olbers' Paradox
(Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers, 1823)
• Assumptions:
• The Universe is in nite in space
• The Universe is static and in nitely old
• Stars are uniformly distributed in the Universe and they have the
same luminosity
• Conclusion:
• The night sky should be extremely bright rather than being dark
At least one of the assumptions must be wrong!
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Olbers' Paradox
• Number of stars in the spherical shell of radius r and width dr:
• Intensity of the star radiation at the distant r:
• Observed luminosity from all stars in the whole Universe:
Standard Model of Cosmology
Standard Model of Cosmology
• Ingredients:
• Standard Model of Particle Physics
• General Relativity
• In ationary Paradigm
• Successes:
• Hubble's Law
• Primordial abundance of light elements
• Cosmic Microwave Background
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Standard Model of Cosmology
• Evidence of New Physics:
• In ation
• Baryogenesis (~5%)
• Dark matter (~25%)
• Dark energy (~70%)
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Cosmological Principle
• In general, it is highly non-trivial to solve the Einstein equations.
Analytic solutions can be found only if we impose speci c
symmetries
• Cosmological Principle:
• The Universe is homogeneous and isotropic
• No preferred points, no preferred directions
• Cosmological Principle => Friedmann-Robertson-Walker
(FRW) metric (independent of the Einstein Equations!)
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Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Metric
• Scale factor a(t): B
• AB(t) distance between A and B at t
• At t': AB(t') = AB(t) a(t')/a(t) A AB ~ a(t)
• Parameter k:
• k = -1 (open universe)
• k = 0 ( at universe)
• k = 1 (closed universe)
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Size of the Universe
• Topologically trivial universe:
• k = 1 => Finite size
• k = 0 or -1 => In nite size
• Topologically non-trivial universe:
• The universe may be nite even if k = 0 or -1
• Search for ghost images
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Friedmann Equations
• Einstein Equations
• FRW metric + perfect uid
• First Friedmann Equation:
• Second Friedmann Equation:
• Bianchi Identity:
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Friedmann Equations
• 2 independent equations
• 3 unknown functions: a(t), ρ(t), P(t)
• Equation of state: P = w ρ
• w = 0 (dust)
• w = 1/3 (radiation)
• w = -1 (vacuum energy)
• k = 0 => Critical energy density ρc
Cosmological Models
Cosmological Models
• Einstein universe
• Matter-dominated universe
• Radiation-dominated universe
• Vacuum-dominated universe
Einstein Universe
• First and Second Friedmann Equations with a Cosmological
Constant:
• P = 0 (dust)
• Static universe
• k = 1 (closed universe), a = a(Λ), ρ = ρ(Λ)
• Unstable
Matter-Dominated Universe
Radiation-Dominated Universe
Vacuum-Dominated Universe
• First and Second Friedmann Equations:
• If Λ = 0 (trivial solution) => k=0, a=constant (Minkowski)
• If Λ < 0 => k = -1
Vacuum-Dominated Universe
• If Λ > 0
• All universes expand forever
• For k = 0 and 1, the scale factor never vanishes, so there is no
Big Bang
Destiny of the Universe
Dust + Vacuum Energy
Accelerated expansion
Closed Universe
Flat Universe
Open Universe
Eternal expansion
Expansion followed by collapse
Age of the Universe
Age of the Universe
Primordial Plasma
Primordial Plasma
• Number density and energy density:
Non-Degenerate Relativistic Gas
μ, m << T
Non-Relativistic Gas
m >> T
First Friedmann Equation
