Friedmann Cosmology at T < 1 second

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the application of Friedmann cosmology to the early universe, specifically at temperatures below 1 second after the Big Bang. Participants explore the implications of energy exchange between radiation and matter during this period and question the validity of using Friedmann equations under these conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant references MTW section 27.7, suggesting that energy exchange between radiation and matter is negligible for the first few seconds of the universe, raising questions about the applicability of Friedmann equations before t ~ 1 second.
  • Another participant emphasizes the uncertainty in the physics of the very early universe, noting that the equations of state for energy components and their couplings are not well understood, which is crucial for solving the Friedmann equations.
  • Several participants express interest in understanding how densities evolved during this time frame, with one noting that density influences the Schwarzschild radius.
  • There is a correction regarding the relationship between density and mass in the context of the Schwarzschild radius, with a participant arguing that mass, not density, determines the event horizon in a vacuum solution.
  • One participant suggests that while MTW assumes no energy interconversion, it may be possible to satisfy the Friedmann equations with appropriate choices of spatial curvature and cosmological constant, although solutions with negative density may not be physically interesting.
  • Another participant expresses a desire to explore the bounce and black holes, indicating a broader interest in cosmological models.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the applicability of Friedmann equations for T < 1 second, with some expressing skepticism about their validity and others proposing methods to explore the equations under these conditions. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of energy exchange and the implications for cosmological models.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in understanding the early universe's physics, particularly regarding the equations of state and the nature of energy components. There are also concerns about the physical relevance of certain solutions derived from the Friedmann equations.

Jorrie
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MTW section 27.7 states:
All estimates indicate that, except for the first few seconds of the life or the universe, the energy exchanged between radiation and matter was negligible compared to \rho_m V and \rho_r V individually (see section 28.1). Under these conditions equation (27.31) can be split into two parts: ...
It then proceeds to derive the relationships: \rho_m a^3 = constant and \rho_v a^4 = constant that pervect has shown before.

My question: does this mean one cannot push the basic Friedmann equations that were discussed so exhaustively in the locked thread 'Firedmann Fun' to a time before t ~ 1 second without gross errors?

If so, can someone please point to a fairly recent accessible paper showing how to deal with the time since inflation ended, up to 1 second? (Or better still, tell us how!:smile:)
 
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We don't precisely know the physics of the very very early universe and therefore do not know the equations of state of the energy components and any couplings between them. This info is needed to solve the Friedmann equations.

What would solving the Friedmann equations for T<1 second tell you anyway?
 
Wallace said:
What would solving the Friedmann equations for T<1 second tell you anyway?

Thanks! Just thought it would be interesting to know how the densities evolved in that time bracket.
 
Thanks! Just thought it would be interesting to know how the densities evolved in that time bracket.
Density determines the Schwarzschild radius.
It would be interesting to know how to get out of the black hole.
jal
 
jal said:
Density determines the Schwarzschild radius.
It would be interesting to know how to get out of the black hole.
jal
I do not think the homogeneous universe as a whole ever had or will have a Schwarzschild radius, because it's a local inhomogeneity phenomenon.
 
Two corrections

jal said:
Density determines the Schwarzschild radius.

Actually, mass, not density. Specifically, in the Schwarzschild vacuum solution, the event horizon is located at r= 2 m in geometric units, where m is a parameter whose interpretation involves some discussion but which, to shorten a longer story, can be identified with "mass" of the (nonrotating) black hole modeled by this solution (or even better, by closely related solutions such as the Oppenheimer-Snyder model of a collapsing dust ball).

For various reasons (extensively discussed in well-known textbooks such as MTW), "density" can be tricky unless this refers to a scalar quantity (as in, a component of the stress-energy tensor, evaluted in a frame comoving with matter). Unfortunately you clearly can only be referring to a dubious notion of "density in the large", since the Schwarzschild vacuum is a vacuum solution.

jal said:
It would be interesting to know how to get out of the black hole.
jal

http://www.math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/BlackHoles/universe.html

In future, please try to perform some elementary fact checking before making unsupported claims.
 
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Thank you Chris Hillman.
That's what I'm trying to do... "fact checking"
jal
---------
I read your link
I'll quote "Perhaps the truth is even stranger. In other words, who knows?"
--------
I'm now reading ... trying to get more insight into everyones opinions.
http://arxiv.org/abs/0710.5721
The radiation equation of state and loop quantum gravity corrections
Authors: Martin Bojowald, Rupam Das
(Submitted on 30 Oct 2007)
 
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Hi, jal, fair enough (and I appreciate the "thanks"!), but in future I suggest that you phrase such posts as "is the following correct?..." and "I know Wikipedia is unreliable but I happened to notice that article A in version V says in part... and wonder if this is correct".
 
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I wish I had had the occasion to become a "math kid" like you. I would have loved to spend time over a beer with you.

Sorry, out of time and got to run. Give me some insight on the bounce and black holes.
jal
 
  • #10
Jorrie said:
MTW section 27.7 states:
It then proceeds to derive the relationships: \rho_m a^3 = constant and \rho_v a^4 = constant that pervect has shown before.

My question: does this mean one cannot push the basic Friedmann equations that were discussed so exhaustively in the locked thread 'Firedmann Fun' to a time before t ~ 1 second without gross errors?

If so, can someone please point to a fairly recent accessible paper showing how to deal with the time since inflation ended, up to 1 second? (Or better still, tell us how!:smile:)
My take on this is that while MTW has made this assumption that there is no interconversion of energy to matter, all that really *has* to be done is that both the dynamic and static Friedmann equations (which I called F1 and F2) must be satisfied. If both Friedmann equations are satisfied, the Einstein field equations will be satisfied.

I think that one first must pick a spatial curvature factor K, which specifies the spatial part of the geometry, and optionally chose some value for the cosmological constant \Lambda. Given this choice of K, one can subsequently specify any (well, actually any twice differentiable) function a(t) , and then use the Friedmann equations to compute rho(t) and P(t) from a(t) and K and \Lambda.

However, some of these solutions, for instance solutions with rho(t) < 0, are probably not physically interesting.

The trick is to find out which a(t) corresponds to a P(t) and rho(t) that has the desired relationship between P and rho.

The bigger trick is to figure out some theoretical grounds for some "equation of state" that one expects P and rho to satisfy.
 
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  • #11
jal said:
I wish I had had the occasion to become a "math kid" like you. I would have loved to spend time over a beer with you.

Sorry, out of time and got to run. Give me some insight on the bounce and black holes.
jal

If I can find time, I might try to post something like "Intro to FRW", or "Survey of Cosmological Models", or "Signals in Spacetimes" in an appropriate forum. The application of superstring theory to cosmological speculations doesn't interest me as much as the application to enumerative geometry, however.
 

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