1.I.10D
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 . Express the Hubble parameter today in terms of the scale factor.
(b) The Raychaudhuri equation states that the acceleration of the universe is determined by the mass density and the pressure as
Now assume that the matter constituents of the universe satisfy . In this case explain clearly why the Hubble time sets an upper limit on the age of the universe; equivalently, that the scale factor must vanish at some time with .
The observed Hubble time is years. Discuss two reasons why the above upper limit does not seem to apply to our universe.