Modern Astronomy

Stars & Galaxies

Lecture 9
Cosmology
Geraint F.
F Lewis
University of Sydney 2005
 Outline
‹ The Universe as we know it
‹ Cosmological models

‹ Observations
Ob ti off the
th Universe
U i
‹ The evolution of the Universe

‹ The distribution of matter

‹ The future of the Cosmos

 The Universe as we know it

www-ed.fnal.gov/projects/exhibits
 Fundamental Forces

Strong: 1 Weak: 10-5

EM: 10-2
Gravity: 10-39
 Forces: Unification
As the energy of the interactions increases, these force look
more like each other.
‹ Quantum Electrodynamics: unifies EM & Weak

‹ Qua
Quantum
u C Chromodynamics:
o ody a cs EM EM--Weak
ea & Strong
S o g
‹ Currently trying to add gravity

Superstrings?????
 Forces: Unification

hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/unify.html
Cosmological Foundations
 General Relativity
In Einstein’s view, gravity is not
really a force!

Importantly, gravity is created not

only
l by
b mass, but
b t also
l byb
energy.

Remember,
Remember mass is energy E=mc2
 Cosmology
Imagine
ag e a universe
u e se filled
ed
with stationary stars.

If finely balanced, it
remains stationary.

A single
g star out of p place
results in collapse.
 Cosmological Constant
This worried Einstein as he thought
the Universe should be static.

He added Λ, the cosmological

constant,
t t which
hi h acts
t as anti-
anti
ti-
gravity.

This acts against collapse,

collapse but has
negative pressure and appears
unphysical!

Einstein’s Biggest Blunder!

 Cosmology
Friedmann & Lemaitre looked at
cosmology within the framework
of General Relativity.
The concluded that, in general,
universes must be expanding or
contracting.
Just how the universe changes with
time depends
p upon
p the energies
g
in the Universe.

When this original work was done,

the only energy considered was
matter!
Evolution
‹ Too little matter, and the
Universe never slows down
‹ Too much matter, and the
Universe collapses
‹ Just right, the expansion
slows down forever, but
never quite reaches zero

But what does this scale factor

mean? It is the change
g of
separation between a pair of
objects.
Evolution
‹ The raisin cake picture
encompasses this picture
‹ As the cake expands, the
distance between raisins
increases
‹ But for this picture to be
accurate, there can be no
edges to the cake!
‹ Where is the centre of the
Universe in this picture?
Geometry
‹ The ratio of the
circumference to the
diameter of a circle is
π=3.141592….
=3 141592
‹ But this is only true in
the flat geometry of
Euclid
‹ What about non-
non-flat
geometry??
Open flat,
Open, flat closed?
Measure π on the surface
of the Earth

From pole to equator =

10000km
Around the equator =
40000km

π = 40000/(2£
40000/(2£10000) = 2
 Open flat,
Open, flat closed?
So,, depending
p g upon
p the density
y in the Universe

‹ Open >π
>π: Infinitely large & expand forever
‹ Flat = π: Infinitely large & expand forever
‹ Closed <π
<π: Finite & eventually collapse

Critical density = 1 £ 10-26 kg/m3

= 6 hydrogen atoms / m3
Observing: The redshift
Hubble’s
Hubble s expansion
Hubble found a relation
between distance and
velocity
V = Ho d
where d is the distance to
the galaxy and v is its
velocity.
Hubble’s constant has
b
been measuredd to
t be
b

Ho = 72 km/s/Mpc
 Hubble’s
Hubble s expansion

Imagine the Earth expands

overnight. We might feel squashed
in our beds, but when we awake in
the morning, all the distances would
have increased! What if we lived in
the surface?
What is the redshift?

The redshift is not a Doppler shift.

As the Universe expands, the
wavelength of the radiation is also
stretched.
Mathematically

where z is the redshift and R is the

distance between galaxies.
Which universe is ours?
The cosmological models make
specific predictions on how faint
something
thi should
h ld llook
k att a particular
ti l
redshift.
This depends upon the content of the
Universe.
Universe
Observations of distant supernova
show that we do not live in a universe
containing only matter.
matter
In fact we live in a universe
dominated by Something Else!!!!
Cosmological time dilation
‹ Cosmological
C l i l supernovae are liklike
clocks, they brighten and fade in
a fixed time.
‹ The cosmological equations
predict that we should see the
distant universe run slowly, a
time dilation effect.
‹ This has now been observed,
providing further evidence that
the cosmological models are a
good description of the cosmos.
cosmos
 Putting it all together
‹ Dark Matter
• Interacts mainly via gravity
• Not stars, gas, rocks etc
• Not large black holes
• Possibl an elementa
Possibly elementary particle
pa ticle

‹ Dark Energy
• Not dark matter!
• Looks like Einstein’s Λ
• Must be exotic: strings, defects
• Is beginning to dominate
The Universe is flat
f • Accelerates the expansion
The Universe is 13.7 billion yrs old
Accelerated expansion
 Running backwards
‹ Running
u g the
t e Universe
U e se backwards,
bac a ds, we e see
there was a point where the scale factor was
zero.
‹ Thi marks
This k the
h Big
Bi Bang,
Bang
B , or start off the
h
Universe.
‹ Currently science cannot answer what caused
Currently,
this event.
‹ But science can describe the universe in detail
from 10-43 seconds after the event to the
present day!
 At the beginning
‹ The energy from inflation
b
became particles
ti l andd radiation
di ti
‹ 10-6 secs, protons and neutrons
formed
‹ 1 sec, protons & neutrons join to
make deuterium and helium
‹ 3 mins, cooking ceased with the
universe 75% hydrogen and
25% helium
‹ 300,000 yrs, the Universe is cool
enough for electrons to join
atoms

There should be a background of

The smaller the scale factor, the radiation left over from this
hotter the universe was.
was The very event!!
early universe was very hot!
Background Radiation
In 1941, Herzberg saw that
molecules in interstellar space
were too energetic.
H concluded
He l d d th
thatt they
th mustt be
b
bathed in a radiation of
temperature
p 2.3K.
“a rotational temperature of 2.3k
follows, which has of course only a
very restricted meaning”
Penzias & Wilson confirmed this in
1965 ((and won the Nobel in 1978))
 Cosmic microwave background
The universe is bathed in cool radiation
left over from its energetic start.
Some of the snow on tv is this CMB
Two important predictions
‹ CMB was hotter in the past

‹ CMB should not be completely

p y smooth
 Cosmic microwave background
Relativistic cosmology predicts that the
temperature of the CMB should scale with the
size of the universe.
Astronomers have looked at distant molecules
in the early universe and have mentioned
temperature of the CMB, finding it to be
hotter in the past, in agreement with the
cosmological model.
model
www.eso.org/outreach/press--rel/pr
www.eso.org/outreach/press rel/pr--2000/pr
2000/pr--27
27--00.html
The CMB
‹ While the CMB has a
mean temperature of
2.7K, there should be
small (10-5) variations
superimposed on it.
‹ These variations
reflect the distribution
of matter in the very
early Universe.
Anisotropy
‹ Inflation predicts a
very specific pattern
on the CMB (red line)

‹ Data from COBE and

now WMAP have
revealed this pattern
matches
h the h theory!
h
In the beginning
beginning…
‹ … the Universe was very smooth

‹ Inflation results in very small

ripples in the matter at the level
of 1 part in 10000 (as seen in
the CMB)

‹ Gravity causes material to flow

into denser regions,
regions forming the
large scale structure of galaxy
groups, clusters and
superclusters

‹ Again need a Universe in a

computer
The growth of large scale structure

http://v
virgo.dur.ac
c.uk & http:://www.nbo
ody.net
Large Scale Structure
Sloan galaxy survey (www.sdss.org)

Surveys of the Universe reveal galaxies

y structure predicted
to lie on the foamy p
from inflation!
 14£109 yrs
Present: 14£

‹ Stars are metal rich

‹ More metals made in supernova
‹ New stars have less and less
hydrogen as they become
polluted with metals

‹ Mass is getting locked up in

white dwarfs, neutron stars and
black holes!
 16£109 yrs
Future: 16£

‹ The Milky Way and Andromeda

collide and form a single large
elliptical
 17£109 yrs
Future: 17£

‹ The Sun dies

 7£1011 yrs
Future: 7£

‹ With the accelerated expansion,

galaxies beyond the Local Group
fade from view.
view

‹ The sky outside the Local Group

will be black!
Future: 1013 yrs

‹ Nuclear fuel is exhausted

‹ Small red stars finally burn out
‹ All star light begins to fade

‹ All potential raw material for star

f
formation
ti iis llocked
k d away in
i
stellar remnants
Future: 1016 yrs

‹ Stellar interactions finally eject

all planets
Future: 1028 yrs

‹ Galaxies finally dissolve, with

90% of stars ejected into
intergalactic space
‹ The remaining stars spiral into
the central black hole
Future: 1032 yrs

‹ Protons decay and matter

dissolves into radiation and
electrons.
electrons
Future: 1067 ! 10100 yrs

‹ Stellar and supermassive black

holes evaporate via Hawking
radiation
‹ Nothing left by a sea of ever
cooling radiation

‹ The universe is now a cold, dark,

lifeless place, a little bit like
Canberra.
See y
you next week!