How Can Redshift be Expressed as a Function of DM in an Empty Universe Model?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around expressing redshift as a function of distance modulus (DM) in the context of an empty universe model (Omega=0). Participants explore theoretical aspects of cosmology, particularly focusing on the implications of different universe models, including closed and open universes, and their relation to redshift and expansion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks a function for redshift as a function of DM in an empty universe model and mentions downloading supernova data for analysis.
  • Another participant references resources that may assist in deriving the necessary equations related to the Milne cosmology.
  • There is a contention regarding the nature of closed and open universes, with some arguing that a closed universe can still expand or shrink.
  • Participants discuss the distinction between closed universes and closed manifolds, suggesting that a closed manifold does not preclude expansion.
  • Some participants assert that the universe could be considered a closed manifold at certain points after the Big Bang, depending on mass/energy distributions.
  • There is debate over the definition of a closed manifold and its implications for the universe's expansion, with some arguing that a closed manifold is finite and cannot expand infinitely.
  • Participants discuss the concept of a manifold in general relativity, with disagreements on whether the manifold itself can change over time.
  • There is a clarification that a metric is distinct from a manifold, with metrics defining measurements within a manifold.
  • One participant emphasizes the need to distinguish between spatial and temporal infinity in cosmological models.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of closed and open universes, the implications of manifold definitions, and the relationship between expansion and topology. No consensus is reached on these points, and the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various resources and papers, indicating that the discussion is informed by ongoing research and theoretical exploration. The conversation includes complex definitions and assumptions that may not be universally agreed upon.

Aztral
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Hi there!

So basically I'm trying to get the function which expresses redshift as a function of DM in the empty universe model (Omega=0).

I've downloaded the type 1A supernova data from http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/sne_cosmology.html, now I'd like to plot the Omega=0 curve. My GR abilities are non-existant and I haven't what I'm looking for by searching

Any help would be appreciated!
 
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Aztral said:
Hi there!

So basically I'm trying to get the function which expresses redshift as a function of DM in the empty universe model (Omega=0).

I've downloaded the type 1A supernova data from http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/sne_cosmology.html, now I'd like to plot the Omega=0 curve. My GR abilities are non-existant and I haven't what I'm looking for by searching

Any help would be appreciated!
Maybe this will help?
http://arxiv.org/abs/astroph/9905116
 
Hi there.

Thanks-think I almost have it. I also found http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~pettini/Physical%20Cosmology/lecture05.pdf & lecture05.pdf which helped a lot.

Surprising-with the numerous milne space graphs all over the place you'd think somewhere that equation would be stated explicitly somewhere.
 
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My guess is a closed Universe. A closed Universe doesn’t mean that the Universe can’t expand or shrink.
 
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Imax said:
My guess is a closed Universe. A closed Universe doesn’t mean that the Universe can’t expand or shrink.
The Milne cosmology is open, not closed. And there is zero acceleration in a Milne cosmology.
 
D'oh! I’m arguing semantics?

[itex]Closed Universe \neq Closed Manifold[/itex]

You need a closed manifold to have a closed Universe, but a closed manifold doesn’t need to be static. If the Universe is a closed 4D manifold, then it doesn’t exclude the possibility that the Universe will end up in heat death, or a big freeze, rip, crunch, or bounce.
 
Imax said:
D'oh! I’m arguing semantics?

[itex]Closed Universe \neq Closed Manifold[/itex]

You need a closed manifold to have a closed Universe, but a closed manifold doesn’t need to be static. If the Universe is a closed 4D manifold, then it doesn’t exclude the possibility that the Universe will end up in heat death, or a big freeze, rip, crunch, or bounce.
I don't understand what you're getting at here.

But in the end, the spatial curvature of our observational universe doesn't necessarily say anything at all about whether the entire universe is closed or open. For example, if we measure our universe to be slightly open, it could just be because we are in a slightly underdense region of the whole universe, and the universe, when taken as a whole, may still be closed.
 
At some time point after the Big Bang, the universe could be considered as a closed manifold. If mass/energy distributions defines space-time, and mass/energy was very concentrated at the Big Bang singularity, then space-time could have been very concentrated, not much more than an atmosphere around a planet. As the Big Bang expanded, space-time itself began to expand.
 
Imax said:
At some time point after the Big Bang, the universe could be considered as a closed manifold. If mass/energy distributions defines space-time, and mass/energy was very concentrated at the Big Bang singularity, then space-time could have been very concentrated, not much more than an atmosphere around a planet. As the Big Bang expanded, space-time itself began to expand.
I still don't see what you're trying to say here.
 
  • #10
We live within a closed 4d space-time manifold.
 
  • #11
Imax said:
We live within a closed 4d space-time manifold.
Except the evidence is that we do not, because as long as it expands forever, as the evidence so far supports, then it isn't closed in four dimensions.
 
  • #12
A closed manifold does not exclude the possibility that the universe expands forever.
 
  • #13
Imax said:
A closed manifold does not exclude the possibility that the universe expands forever.
Why not? A closed manifold is, by definition, finite. While an eternally-expanding universe is infinite.
 
  • #14
A closed manifold is, by definition, finite, but it doesn't need to be static. A manifold can grow or shrink, changing with time.
 
  • #15
Chalnoth said:
Why not? A closed manifold is, by definition, finite. While an eternally-expanding universe is infinite.

I think you need to distinguish spatial infinity from temporal infinity. You can have cosmologies that are spatially finite but temporally infinite. See http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9812133 , figure 7.

Imax said:
A closed manifold is, by definition, finite, but it doesn't need to be static. A manifold can grow or shrink, changing with time.

The manifold we normally talk about in GR includes both space and time dimensions. I wouldn't refer to it as changing over time. There aren't different manifolds at different times. You could take the 4-dimensional manifold-with-metric that represents a cosmological solution and make a spacelike slice through it to form a 3-dimensional manifold, but that wouldn't be "the" manifold.
 
  • #16
bcrowell said:
The manifold we normally talk about in GR includes both space and time dimensions. I wouldn't refer to it as changing over time. There aren't different manifolds at different times.

Agree. It's the same space-time manifold, but current cosmological data indicates that this manifold is growing with time, and that growth appears to be accelerating (something like a balloon analogy).
 
  • #17
Imax said:
Agree. It's the same space-time manifold, but current cosmological data indicates that this manifold is growing with time, and that growth appears to be accelerating (something like a balloon analogy).

It doesn't make sense to say that "this manifold is growing with time." The manifold includes points at all times. I'm not disagreeing with cosmological expansion or the balloon analogy, I'm telling you that you're misusing the term "manifold." The balloon is not analogous to the manifold. The balloon is analogous to a spacelike surface, which is a slice through the manifold.
 
  • #18
bcrowell said:
I'm telling you that you're misusing the term "manifold."

I can't use the term "metric." Isn't a metric a subset of a manifold?
 
  • #19
Imax said:
I can't use the term "metric." Isn't a metric a subset of a manifold?

A manifold is a set of events with a topology but no other structure. A coffee cup is the same manifold as a doughnut. A metric is a separate piece of mathematical machinery that can be added onto a manifold, defining measurements of time and distance. If you want to say space is expanding, I would just use the word "space."
 
  • #20
Ok. “Space” is expanding (i.e. Hubble redshift).

The spatial component of the manifold is expanding with time, and the distance between galaxies is increasing (but not necessarily for local clusters).
 
  • #21
bcrowell said:
I think you need to distinguish spatial infinity from temporal infinity. You can have cosmologies that are spatially finite but temporally infinite. See http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9812133 , figure 7.
Yes, but here I was responding to the statement of our universe being a closed space-time manifold, which I took to mean topologically closed in four dimensions, as opposed to simply talking about closed in the sense of having positive spatial curvature. Obviously a universe that has positive spatial curvature can, in the presence of a cosmological constant, expand forever. But a universe that is topologically closed in four dimensions, by definition, cannot.
 
  • #22
I don’t mean to say there are different manifolds with time. Manifold is topology, and spacetime is a metric within that manifold. I’m wondering about metrics just after the Big Bang singularity. Could they be described within a compact Lorentz manifold?
 
  • #23
Imax said:
I don’t mean to say there are different manifolds with time. Manifold is topology, and spacetime is a metric within that manifold. I’m wondering about metrics just after the Big Bang singularity. Could they be described within a compact Lorentz manifold?
I have no idea what you are saying here. A manifold in General Relativity is not a three-dimensional object that evolves in time. A manifold is a fully four-dimensional object.
 
  • #24
Spacetime just after the Big Bang singularity can describe as a metric within a compact Lorentz manifold?
 
  • #25
Imax said:
Spacetime just after the Big Bang singularity can describe as a metric within a compact Lorentz manifold?
a) There was no singularity, so I don't know what you're talking about.
b) Any small-enough region of space-time can be considered to be a Lorentz space-time, but it is the radius of curvature that determines how small you have to get before you can do that. Because of the expansion, at no time could you have considered the entire universe as being Lorentz.
 
  • #26
Expansion does not exclude the possibility that the universe is Lorentz.
 
  • #27
Imax said:
Expansion does not exclude the possibility that the universe is Lorentz.
Yes, actually, it does. Except in the very special case of an empty universe (but then "expansion" is meaningless in that situation anyway). As long as the universe isn't empty, then you have space-time curvature. Lorentz space-time is flat.
 
  • #28
Chalnoth said:
Lorentz space-time is flat.

Are you saying a compact Lorentz manifold is flat?
 
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  • #29
Imax said:
Are you saying a compact Lorentz manifold is flat?
If it's Lorentz, it's flat, period.
 
  • #30

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