Effects of structure formation on the expansion rate of the Universe: An estimate from numerical simulations
- Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 (United States)
General relativistic corrections to the expansion rate of the Universe arise when the Einstein equations are averaged over a spatial volume in a locally inhomogeneous cosmology. It has been suggested that they may contribute to the observed cosmic acceleration. In this paper, we propose a new scheme that utilizes numerical simulations to make a realistic estimate of the magnitude of these corrections for general inhomogeneities in (3+1) spacetime. We then quantitatively calculate the volume averaged expansion rate using N-body large-scale structure simulations and compare it with the expansion rate in a standard FRW cosmology. We find that in the weak gravitational field limit, the converged corrections are slightly larger than the previous claimed 10{sup -5} level, but not large enough nor even of the correct sign to drive the current cosmic acceleration. Nevertheless, the question of whether the cumulative effect can significantly change the expansion history of the Universe needs to be further investigated with strong-field relativity.
- OSTI ID:
- 21503944
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 83, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.83.023524; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACCELERATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CORRECTIONS
COSMOLOGY
EINSTEIN FIELD EQUATIONS
EXPANSION
FOUR-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
LIMITING FRAGMENTATION
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
SPACE-TIME
UNIVERSE
ENERGY RANGE
EQUATIONS
EVALUATION
FIELD EQUATIONS
HYPOTHESIS
SIMULATION