Dark Energy or Apparent Acceleration Due to a Relativistic Cosmological Model More Complex than FLRW?
Abstract
I present recent results where we showed that the Szekeres inhomogeneous relativistic models fit supernova data as well as the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker model without requiring any dark energy component. The Szekeres best fit model that we found is also consistent with the requirement of spatial flatness at the CMB scale. While more work remains, our results appear to support the possibility of apparent acceleration. The Szekeres models were originally derived as an exact solution to Einstein's equations with a general metric that has no symmetries and are regarded in the field as very good models to represent the true lumpy universe that we observe. Interestingly, apparent acceleration due to inhomogeneities is also linked to the profound problem of averaging in cosmology. This is the first part of a research program where we plan to fully explore the question of apparent cosmic acceleration. Next steps include the comparisons of inhomogeneous cosmological models with full spectra of the CMB and large-scale structure.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AAS...21111901I