Is expansion the same Throughout the Universe

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the expansion of the universe, particularly whether the rate of expansion is uniform throughout the cosmos. Participants explore various measurements of the Hubble constant and their implications for understanding cosmic expansion, referencing ongoing research and differing methodologies.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant references a paper suggesting that the universe is expanding faster the further back in time we look, which contrasts with traditional Hubble measurements.
  • Another participant notes the absence of a link to the actual paper and emphasizes that ongoing research means the final answers regarding cosmic expansion are still unknown.
  • A metaphor comparing the universe's expansion to a rubber band is introduced to illustrate the complexity of measuring expansion at different points.
  • Participants discuss various measurements of the Hubble constant, highlighting discrepancies between values obtained from different methods, such as those from the H0LiCOW team and the ESA Planck satellite.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of varying Hubble constant measurements, questioning whether they indicate new physics or potential misapplications of existing models.
  • A participant presents a hypothetical scenario involving photons and redshift, seeking to understand how their redshifts might differ in a specific geometric context.
  • Another participant expresses confusion about the terminology used in the papers, particularly regarding the Hubble constant and its constancy over time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of varying measurements of the Hubble constant and whether the universe's expansion rate is consistent across different regions. There is no consensus on the interpretation of these measurements or their significance.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the discussion is influenced by assumptions inherent in cosmological models, particularly the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model, and that discrepancies in measurements may stem from these assumptions.

wolram
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I have just found this paper that states the universe is expanding faster the further we look back, Different than the Hubble measured.?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170126132624.htm

The new measurement is completely independent of -- but in excellent agreement with -- other measurements of the Hubble constant in the local Universe that used Cepheid variable stars and supernovae as points of reference heic1611.

However, the value measured by Suyu and her team, as well as those measured using Cepheids and supernovae, are different from the measurement made by the ESA Planck satellite . But there is an important distinction -- Planck measured the Hubble constant for the early Universe by observing the cosmic microwave background.

Thanks in advance.
 
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I don't see any links to the actual paper in the article. Is it on arxiv?

Also, the general answer to all papers of this type is that this is ongoing research and we don't know what the final answer is going to be.

Finally, the question of what the rate of expansion was in the far past does not seem to be the same as the title question of this thread. The title question of this thread seems to be asking whether, at the present time, the universe is expanding at the same rate everywhere. The answer is that that is true by definition: we purposely choose the coordinates we use in cosmology so that this is true.
 
This is not unlike asking if a really long rubber band stretches by the same amount at various intervals along its entire length. It's not an easy question when the rubber band itself is the only reference available. This is one of the questions cosmologists hope to answer with the Dark Energy Survey, http://www.darkenergysurvey.org/the-des-project/overview/.
 
[PLAIN]http://spacetelescope.org/news/heic1702/ said:
[4][/PLAIN] The H0LiCOW team determined a value for the Hubble constant of 71.9±2.7 kilometres per second per Megaparsec. In 2016 scientists using Hubble measured a value of 73.24±1.74 kilometres per second per Megaparsec. In 2015, the ESA Planck Satellite measured the constant with the highest precision so far and obtained a value of 66.93±0.62 kilometres per second per Megaparsec.
The reported value of Ho does seem to jump up and down around the 70 km/s/Mpc mark, depending on the data-set and the analysis used. This is not of too much of a concern, as long as it is the same for all distances. It is a bit worrying that such small error margins are quoted, but the Hubble and Planck error bars do not overlap.

We know that H(t) in the early universe was much higher than H(t) later, but this is compensated for when Ho is determined. It looks suspiciously much like an artifact of the different analysis techniques.
 
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It's unclear what it might mean if Ho varies with the age of the universe. Does it herald new physics or just a misapplication of existing physics?
 
A triangle that has matter around its sides that can beat dark energy but center can't.
How is it expanding?

Same triangle.
A photon straight from the center of the base to opposite vertex and another photon detouring around other vertex.
(no gravity well between start and end)
How their redshifts differ?
 
Thank you for replies and your patience.
 
Chronos said:
It's unclear what it might mean if Ho varies with the age of the universe.

It can't; ##H_0## is the Hubble constant "now". Unless I'm misunderstanding the terminology being used in these papers.

Different measurements of ##H_0## whose error bars don't overlap suggests to me that there is a model assumption being made that is not quite correct, since as I understand it all of these measurements require some assumption about the cosmological model (LCDM being the usual one).
 

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