1.I.10D

Cosmology
Part II, 2006

(a) Introduce the concept of comoving co-ordinates in a homogeneous and isotropic universe and explain how the velocity of a galaxy is determined by the scale factor aa. Express the Hubble parameter H0H_{0} today in terms of the scale factor.

(b) The Raychaudhuri equation states that the acceleration of the universe is determined by the mass density ρ\rho and the pressure PP as

a¨a=4πG3(ρ+3P/c2)\frac{\ddot{a}}{a}=-\frac{4 \pi G}{3}\left(\rho+3 P / c^{2}\right)

Now assume that the matter constituents of the universe satisfy ρ+3P/c20\rho+3 P / c^{2} \geqslant 0. In this case explain clearly why the Hubble time H01H_{0}^{-1} sets an upper limit on the age of the universe; equivalently, that the scale factor must vanish (a(ti)=0)\left(a\left(t_{i}\right)=0\right) at some time ti<t0t_{i}<t_{0} with t0tiH01t_{0}-t_{i} \leqslant H_{0}^{-1}.

The observed Hubble time is H01=1×1010H_{0}^{-1}=1 \times 10^{10} years. Discuss two reasons why the above upper limit does not seem to apply to our universe.