Calculating average density of the Universe

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SUMMARY

The average density of the universe at the time light was emitted by the galaxy at red-shifted wavelength z = 6.56 can be calculated using the equations for density in an expanding universe. The density of matter is given by the formula ρ(t) = M / L(t)3 = ρ0 / a(t)3, while the energy density of photons is expressed as ρ(t)c2 = ρ0c2 / a(t)4. The user confirmed their calculations aligned with established answers, and they inquired about expressing density in terms of Hydrogen atoms per cubic meter, suggesting they calculated the number of Hydrogen atoms correctly as 1.06 x 1030.

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  • Knowledge of photon energy and its relation to density
  • Basic principles of the expanding universe model
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Q: What was the average density of the universe at the time the light was emitted by the z = 6.56 galaxy?

For the question we know the current average density of the universe and red-shift wavelength z = 6.56. It says to calculate the average density of the universe at the moment when light was emitted by the galaxy at red-shifted wavelength 6.56. I have the linear scale factor but I'm not really sure what to do next. I've read equations about density on the internet but haven't found one that uses a wavelength or linear scale factor. Any help is appreciated.
 
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In order to calculate the densities we use a cubic model of expansion for both.

Density of matter (expanding universe): ##\rho(t) = \frac{M}{L(t)^3} = \frac{M}{L_0^3a(t)^3} = \frac{\rho_0}{a(t)^3}##.

where ##M## is mass inside a "cube"
##L(t)## is expanding side of "cube"
##\rho_0## is current density
##a(t)## is scale factor of universe
##\rho(t)## is density at time t

Energy density of photons (expanding universe): ##\rho(t)c^2 = \frac{N E(t)}{L(t)^3} = \frac{\frac{N E_0}{a(t)}}{L_0^3a(t)^3} = \frac{\rho_0c^2}{a(t)^4}##.

where ##N## is number of photons in "cube"
##E(t)## is photon energy at time t
##\rho_0c^2## is current density
 
Alright I calculate the average density and it is correct because I checked against the book's answer. If I were asked to express the density as the number of Hydrogen atoms per cubic meter, how would I go about it?

What I've done is calculated the number of H atoms that would fit in one cubic meter to be 1.06 x 10^30 and just multiplied it by the density I calculated previously. Am I on the right track or way off?
 

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