Paper 1, Section I, C

Cosmology
Part II, 2017

In a homogeneous and isotropic universe, describe the relative displacement r(t)\mathbf{r}(t) of two galaxies in terms of a scale factor a(t)a(t). Show how the relative velocity v(t)\mathbf{v}(t) of these galaxies is given by the relation v(t)=H(t)r(t)\mathbf{v}(t)=H(t) \mathbf{r}(t), where you should specify H(t)H(t) in terms of a(t)a(t).

From special relativity, the Doppler shift of light emitted by a particle moving away radially with speed vv can be approximated by

λ0λe=1+v/c1v/c=1+vc+O(v2c2)\frac{\lambda_{0}}{\lambda_{\mathrm{e}}}=\sqrt{\frac{1+v / c}{1-v / c}}=1+\frac{v}{c}+\mathcal{O}\left(\frac{v^{2}}{c^{2}}\right)

where λe\lambda_{e} is the wavelength of emitted light and λ0\lambda_{0} is the observed wavelength. For the observed light from distant galaxies in a homogeneous and isotropic expanding universe, show that the redshift defined by 1+zλ0/λe1+z \equiv \lambda_{0} / \lambda_{\mathrm{e}} is given by

1+z=a(t0)a(te)1+z=\frac{a\left(t_{0}\right)}{a\left(t_{\mathrm{e}}\right)}

where tet_{\mathrm{e}} is the time of emission and t0t_{0} is the observation time.