The cosmological principle says that the Universe is spatially homogeneous and isotropic. It predicts, among other phenomena, the cosmic redshift of light and the Hubble law. Nevertheless, the existence of structure in the Universe violates the (exact) cosmological principle. A more precise formulation of the cosmological principle must allow for the formation of structure and must therefore incorporate probability distributions. In this contribution to the Memorial Volume for Wolfgang Kummer, a great teacher and mentor to me, I discuss how we could formulate a new version of the cosmological principle, how to test it, and how to possibly justify it by fundamental physics. My contribution starts with some of my memories of Wolfgang.
We discover a linear relation between two sets of galaxy-lensing cross-correlations. This linear relation holds, as long as light follows the geodesic and the metric is Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW). Violation of the cosmological principle (and equivalently the FLRW metric) will break this linear relation. Therefore it provides a powerful test of the cosmological principle, based on direct observables and relied on no specific cosmological models. We demonstrate that stage IV galaxy surveys and CMB-S4 experiments will be able to test this linear relation stringently and therefore …
After the discovery of the anisotropy in the sky-distribution of intermediate gamma-ray bursts recently also the distribution of the short gamma-ray bursts is proven to be anisotropic. The impact of these behaviors on the validity of the cosmological principle is shortly discussed.
The Cosmological Principle in it's various versions states that: (i) the Galaxy does not occupy a particular position, (ii) the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic. This statement does not agree with the recent astronomical observations in the range z lower than 0.05 which are in agreement with a cellular structure of the Universe. Here we present a local analysis of the inhomogeneity of the Universe. When z is greater than 0.05 our analysis cannot be applied because the astronomical sample of galaxies here processed is not complete. The two tools of the Poisson Voronoi tessellation (PVT) an…
The homogeneity of matter distribution at large scales, known as the cosmological principle, is a central assumption in the standard cosmological model. The case is testable though, thus no longer needs to be a principle. Here we perform a test for spatial homogeneity using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG) sample by counting galaxies within a specified volume with the radius scale varying up to 300 Mpc/h. We directly confront the large-scale structure data with the definition of spatial homogeneity by comparing the averages and dispersions of galaxy number counts with a…
The (re)introduction of $Λ$ into cosmology has spurred debates that touch on central questions in philosophy of science, as well as the foundations of general relativity and particle physics. We provide a systematic assessment of the often implicit philosophical assumptions guiding the methodology of precision cosmology in relation to dark energy. We start by briefly introducing a recent account of scientific progress in terms of risky and constrained lines of inquiry. This allows us to contrast aspects of $Λ$ that make it relevantly different from other theoretical entities in science, such a…
We test the cosmological principle by fitting a dipolar modulation of distance modulus and searching for an evolution of this modulation with respect to cosmological redshift. Based on a redshift tomographic method, we divide the Joint Light-curve Analysis compilation of supernovae of type Ia into different redshift bins, and employ a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo method to infer the anisotropic amplitude and direction in each redshift bin. However, we do not find any significant deviations from the cosmological principle, and the anisotropic amplitude is stringently constrained to be less than a f…
In this talk, we review the empirical status for modern gravitational theories with emphases on (i) Equivalence Principles; (ii) Lense-Thirring effects and the implications of Gravity Probe B experiment; (iii) Solar-System Tests of Cosmological Models.
Leptogenesis could have occurred at temperatures much lower than generally thought, if the cosmological history of the Universe underwent a period of accelerated expansion, as is predicted for example in a class of scalar-tensor theories of gravitation. We discuss how non-standard cosmologies can open new pathways for low scale leptogenesis. Within these scenarios, direct tests of leptogenesis could also provide information on the very early times Universe evolution, corresponding to temperatures larger than the TeV.
The cosmological principle states that our Universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic at large scales. However, due to the relative motion of the Solar System, an additional kinematic dipole can be detected in the distribution of galaxies, which should be consistent with the dipole observed in the cosmic microwave background temperature. In this paper, we forecast the mock number count maps from the China Space Station Telescope photometric survey to reconstruct the kinematic dipole. Using the whole photometric mock data, we obtain a positive evidence for the dipole signal detection a…
We construct the cosmological model to explain the cosmological constant problem. We built the extension of the standard cosmological model $Λ$CDM by consideration of decaying vacuum energy represented by the running cosmological term. From the principles of quantum mechanics one can find that in the long term behavior survival probability of unstable states is a decreasing function of the cosmological time and has the inverse power-like form. This implies that cosmological constant $ρ_{\text{vac}} = Λ(t) = Λ_{\text{bare}} + \fracα{t^2}$ where $Λ_{\text{bare}}$ and $α$ are constants. We invest…
The distribution of FRB fluxes and fluences is characterized by a few very bright events and a deficiency of fainter events compared to expectations for a homogeneous space-filling distribution. I define a metric to quantify this, and apply it to the 17 presently known Parkes FRB, products of a comparatively homogeneous search. With 98\% confidence we reject the hypothesis of a homogeneous distribution in Euclidean space. Possible explanations include a reduction of fainter events by cosmological redshifts or evolution or a cosmologically local concentration of events. The former is opposed by…
The holographic principle provides a deep insight into quantum gravity and resolves the fine-tuning crisis concerning the cosmological constant. Holographic dark energy introduces new ultra-violet (UV) and infra-red (IR) cutoffs into quantum gravity which are necessarily strongly related. The equation of state for dark energy $ω= p/ρ$ is discussed from the holographic point of view. The phantom option of $ω< -1$ is resurrected, as in an earlier cyclic cosmology. Such a cyclic model can, however, equally use the cosmological constant with $ω= -1$.
One of the cornerstones of general relativity is the equivalence principle. However, the validity of the equivalence principle has only been established on solar system scales for standard matter fields; this result cannot be assumed to hold for the non-standard matter fields that dominate the gravitational dynamics on cosmological scales. Here we show how the equivalence principle may be tested on cosmological scales for non-standard matter fields using the odd multipoles of the galaxy cross-power spectrum and bispectrum. This test makes use of the imprint on the galaxy cross-power spectrum a…
The Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) has emerged in numerous attempts to a theory of quantum gravity and predicts the existence of a minimum length in Nature. In this work, we consider two cosmological models arising from Friedmann equations modified by the GUP (in its linear and quadratic formulations) and compare them with observational data. Our aim is to derive constraints on the GUP parameter and discuss the viability and physical implications of such models. We find for the parameter in the quadratic formulation the constraint $α^{2}_{Q}<10^{59}$ (tighter than most of those obtain…
Aims: Recently, cosmological fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been used to provide the most stringent limit up to date on Einstein's Equivalence Principle (EEP). We study how to further test EEP with FRBs. Methods: Future systematic radio surveys will certainly find abundant FRBs at cosmological distances and some of them will inevitably be located behind clusters of galaxies. Here we suggest to use those FRBs to further test EEP. Results: We find that the robustness and accuracy of testing EEP can be improved further by orders of magnitude with these FRBs. The same methodology can also be applie…
School of Physics and Technology, Xinjiang University（新疆大学物理科学与技术学院）；School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University（河南大学物理与电子学院）；Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院新疆天文台）；School of Physics and Astronomy, China West Normal University（西华师范大学物理与天文学院）
Probing the Cosmological Principle with CMB lensing and cosmic shear
University of the Western Cape（西开普敦大学）；National Institute for Theoretical & Computational Sciences（理论与计算科学国家研究所）；Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, CNRS & Université de Montpellier（蒙彼利埃宇宙与粒子实验室，法国国家科学研究中心与蒙彼利埃大学）；Queen Mary University of London（伦敦玛丽女王大学）；Université de Genève（日内瓦大学）
Cosmological density fields are assumed to be translational and rotational invariant, avoiding any special point or direction, thus satisfying the Copernican Principle. A spatially inhomogeneous matter distribution can be compatible with the Copernican Principle but not with the stronger version of it, the Cosmological Principle which requires the additional hypothesis of spatial homogeneity. We establish criteria for testing that a given density field, in a finite sample at low redshifts, is statistically and/or spatially homogeneous. The basic question to be considered is whether a distribut…
It is shown that the first law of thermodynamics and the holographic principle applied to an arbitrary large cosmic causal horizon naturally demand the zero cosmological constant and non-zero dynamical dark energy in the form of the holographic dark energy. Semiclassical analysis shows that the holographic dark energy has a parameter $d=1$ and an equation of state comparable to current observational data, if the entropy of the horizon saturates the Bekenstein-Hawking bound. This result indicates that quantum field theory should be modified at large scale to explain dark energy. The relations a…
The Cosmological Principle states that the Universe is statistically isotropic and homogeneous on large scales. In particular, this implies statistical isotropy in the galaxy distribution, after removal of a dipole anisotropy due to the observer's motion. We test this hypothesis with number count maps from the NVSS radio catalogue. We use a local variance estimator based on patches of different angular radii across the sky and compare the source count variance between and within these patches. In order to assess the statistical significance of our results, we simulate radio maps with the NVSS …
A correspondence between the Equivalence principle and the homogeneity of the universe is discussed. In Newtonian gravity, translation of co-moving coordinates in a uniformly expanding universe defines an accelerated frame. A consistency condition for the invariance of this transformation which requires a well defined transformation for the Newtonian potential, yields the Friedmann equations. All these symmetries are lost when we modify NSL (Newton's Second Law) or the Poisson equation. For example by replacing NSL with non-linear function of the acceleration the concept of relative accelerati…
We propose and apply a new test of Einstein's Equivalence Principle (EEP) based on the gravitational redshift induced by the central super massive black hole of quasars in the surrounding accretion disk. Specifically, we compare the observed gravitational redshift of the Fe III$λλ$2039-2113 emission line blend in quasars with the predicted values in a wide, uncharted, cosmic territory ($0 \lesssim z_{cosm}\lesssim3$). For the first time we measure, with statistical uncertainties comparable or better than those of other classical methods outside the Solar System, the ratio between the observed …
Observations indicate that the evolution of our universe can be divided into three epochs consisting of early time inflation, radiation (and matter) domination and the late time acceleration. One can associate with each of these epochs a number N which is the phase space volume of the modes which cross the Hubble radius during the corresponding epoch. This number turns out to be (approximately) the same for the cosmologically relevant ranges of the three epochs. When the initial de Sitter space is characterized by the Planck length, the natural value for N is 4π. This allows us to determine th…
We study the extent up to which the equivalence principle is obeyed in models of modified gravity and dark energy involving a single scalar degree of freedom. We focus on the effective field theories of dark energy describing the late time acceleration in the presence of ordinary matter species. In their covariant form these coincide with the Horndeski theories on a cosmological background with a slowly varying Hubble rate and a time-dependent scalar field. We show that in the case of an exactly de Sitter universe both the weak and strong equivalence principles hold. This occurs due to the com…
In this communication, we consider a wide class of extensions to General Relativity that break explicitly the Einstein Equivalence Principle by introducing a multiplicative coupling between a scalar field and the electromagnetic Lagrangian. In these theories, we show that 4 cosmological observables are intimately related to each other: a temporal variation of the fine structure constant, a violation of the distance-duality relation, the evolution of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and CMB spectral distortions. This enables one to put very stringent constraints on possible vio…
We consider the fact that noticing on the operational meaning of the physical concepts played an impetus role in the appearance of general relativity (GR). Thus, we have paid more attention to the operational definition of the gravitational coupling constant in this theory as a dimensional constant which is gained through an experiment. However, as all available experiments just provide the value of this constant locally, this coupling constant can operationally be meaningful only in a local area. Regarding this point, to obtain an extension of GR for the large scale, we replace it by a confor…
Feedback processes are thought to solve some of the long-standing issues of the numerical modelling of galaxy formation: over-cooling, low angular momentum, massive blue galaxies, extra-galactic enrichment, etc. The accretion of gas onto super-massive black holes in the centre of massive galaxies can release tremendous amounts of energy to the surrounding medium. We show, with cosmological Adaptive Mesh Refinement simulations, how the growth of black holes is regulated by the feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei using a new dual jet/heating mechanism. We discuss how this large amount of feedba…
Modifications of gravity generated by a multiplicative coupling of a scalar field to the electromagnetic Lagrangian lead to a breaking of Einstein equivalence principle (EEPB) as well as to variations of fundamental constants. In these theoretical frameworks, deviations of standard values of the fine structure constant, $Δα/α=ϕ$, and of the cosmic distance duality relation, $D_L(1+z)^{-2}/D_A=η=1$, where $D_L$ and $D_A$ are the luminosity and angular diameter distances, respectively, are unequivocally linked. In this paper, we search for cosmological signatures of the EEPB by using angular dia…
The equivalence principle, that is one of the main pillars of general relativity, is very well tested in the Solar system; however, its validity is more uncertain on cosmological scales, or when dark matter is concerned. This article shows that relativistic effects in the large-scale structure can be used to directly test whether dark matter satisfies Euler's equation, i.e. whether its free fall is characterised by geodesic motion, just like baryons and light. After having proposed a general parametrisation for deviations from Euler's equation, we perform Fisher-matrix forecasts for future sur…
Cosmological Constraints on the Generalized Uncertainty Principle from Redshift-Space Distortions
Durban University of Technology（德班理工大学）；North-West University（西北大学）；Universidad Catòlica del Norte（北天主教大学）；National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS)（国家理论与计算科学研究所）
Testing the cosmological principle on gigaparsec scales
School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-sen University（中山大学物理学院）；CSST Science Center for the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area,Sun Yat-sen University（中山大学粤港澳大湾区空间站科学中心）
We pursue a program to confront observations with inhomogeneous extensions of the FLRW metric. The main idea is to test the Copernican principle rather than assuming it a priori. We consider the $Λ$CDM model endowed with a spherical $Λ$LTB inhomogeneity around us, that is, we assume isotropy and test the hypothesis of homogeneity. We confront the $Λ$LTB model with the latest available data from CMB, BAO, type Ia supernovae, local $H_0$, cosmic chronometers, Compton y-distortion and kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. We find that these data can constrain tightly this extra inhomogeneity, almost …
The possibility of extending the quantum mechanical superposition principle to free parameters such as the cosmological constant appearing in the Lagrangian of physical theories is examined. If the cosmological constant is subject to a quantum mechanical superposition principle, its observed value is a weighted average of its two natural values, one at the Planck scale and the other at zero. As zero and nonzero values of the cosmological constant leads to topologically distinct spacetimes, the amplitude for the cosmological constant to take a Planck scale value is weighted over a topological E…
This paper proposes a systematic study of cosmological signatures of modifications of gravity via the presence of a scalar field with a multiplicative coupling to the electromagnetic Lagrangian. We show that, in this framework, variations of the fine structure constant, violations of the distance duality relation, evolution of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and CMB distortions are intimately and unequivocally linked. This enables one to put very stringent constraints on possible violations of the distance duality relation, on the evolution of the CMB temperature and on admis…
Over 30 years ago, Barrow & Tipler proposed the principle according to which the action integrated over the entire 4-manifold describing the universe should be finite. Here we explore the cosmological consequences of a related criterion, namely that semi-classical transition amplitudes from the early universe up to current field values should be well defined. On a classical level, our criterion is weaker than the Barrow-Tipler principle, but it has the advantage of being sensitive to quantum effects. We find significant consequences for early universe models, in particular: eternal inflation a…
We present a novel approach to disentangle two key contributions to the largest-scale anisotropy of the galaxy distribution: (i) the intrinsic dipole due to clustering and anisotropic geometry, and (ii) the kinematic dipole due to our peculiar velocity. Including the redshift and angular size of galaxies, in addition to their fluxes and positions allows us to measure both the direction and amplitude of our velocity independently of the intrinsic dipole of the source distribution. We find that this new approach applied to future galaxy surveys (LSST and Euclid) and a SKA radio continuum survey …
We study the large-scale anisotropy of the Universe by measuring the dipole in the angular distribution of a flux-limited, all-sky sample of 1.36 million quasars observed by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). This sample is derived from the new CatWISE2020 catalog, which contains deep photometric measurements at 3.4 and 4.6 $μ$m from the cryogenic, post-cryogenic, and reactivation phases of the WISE mission. While the direction of the dipole in the quasar sky is similar to that of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), its amplitude is over twice as large as expected, rejecting th…
It is shown that if one takes into account Mach's principle in the form which follows from quantum theory and considers it as a complementary constraint between the parameters which characterize the energy density and geometry of the universe in addition to Einstein equations for a FRW universe, non-relativistic matter transforms into an analogue of K-matter. The exact solutions of the Einstein equations for the universe with such matter and cosmological constant are found. It is demonstrated that the Machian universe under consideration with a nonzero cosmological constant is equivalent to th…
A sample of $60,410$ bona fide optical quasars with astrometric proper motions in Gaia EDR3 and spectroscopic redshifts above 0.5 in an oval 8400 square degree area of the sky is constructed. Using orthogonal Zernike functions of polar coordinates, the proper motion fields are fitted in a weighted least-squares adjustment of the entire sample and of six equal bins of sorted redshifts. The overall fit with 37 Zernike functions reveals a statistically significant pattern, which is likely to be of instrumental origin. The main feature of this pattern is a chain of peaks and dips mostly in the R.A…
This article will review quantum particle creation in expanding universes. The emphasis will be on the basic physical principles and on selected applications to cosmological models. The needed formalism of quantum field theory in curved spacetime will be summarized, and applied to the example of scalar particle creation in a spatially flat universe. Estimates for the creation rate will be given and applied to inflationary cosmology models. Analog models which illustrate the same physical principles and may be experimentally realizable are also discussed.
The cosmological principle (CP), assuming spatially homogeneous and isotropic background geometry in the cosmological scale, is a fundamental assumption in modern cosmology. Recent observations of the galaxy redshift survey provide relevant data to confront the principle with observation. We present a homogeneity test for the matter distribution using the BOSS DR12 CMASS galaxy sample and clarify the ontological status of the CP. As a homogeneity criterion, we compare the observed data with similarly constructed random distributions using the number count in the truncated cones method. Compari…
