Questions tagged [cosmology]
Questions about the origin, history, evolution and fate of the Universe.
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Primordial black holes as a candidate for dark matter
On the Wikipedia page for Primordial Black Holes, a section reads: "Other problems for which primordial black holes have been suggested as a solution include the dark matter problem..."
However, this ...
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1answer
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What exactly is the cosmic definition of ‘now’ is?
There is no cosmic definition of now because of special relativity, because of rate at which time flows for a particular object depends upon your point of view and your velocity. For a rocket ...
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2answers
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Number Density of Dark Matter Halos
Is there a way to calculate the expected number density of Dark Matter Halos above a given mass, in a certain redshift range, and in a certain area?
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1answer
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Is it possible that the Universe is expanding due to additional Big Bang events?
Is it theoretically possible that the Universe is expanding due to additional Big Bang events that have occurred at the same location that the original Big Bang occurred at?
Perhaps there has been an ...
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2answers
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Do we observe Mars Eclipse or Jupiter Eclipse?
We frequently observe lunar eclipse throughout the year. Have we ever observed Mars Eclipse or Jupiter Eclipse or Saturn eclipse?
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1answer
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What exactly is the accretion disk?
Is it really possible for material such as dust, gas and other stellar debris that come near the black hole, doesn't fall into it, instead forms a flattened band of spinning material?
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What is the three-point (or more generally, the n-point) correlation function in cosmology?
I am a new graduate student and would like to understand the basics of the n-point correlation function at an undergraduate level. I would also appreciate if there is any pedagogical paper on the ...
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2answers
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Can black holes be used as an energy source
I’ve heard that black hole will be rotating continuously which stores a huge amount of energy in its rotation. Will this energy be accessible, since the rotation is imposed on the space outside the ...
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1answer
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Are black holes really black? [closed]
I don’t think that black holes are really black as they are the only ones who have the capacity to bend light. At the centre of the black hole the laws of physics are totally defied, black holes ...
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2answers
152 views
Why does earth not collide with the sun? [duplicate]
Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity (proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915) which describes gravity not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature of ...
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1answer
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What explains the existence of energy/matter if it cannot be created or destroyed?
If the energy/matter that was contained in the singularity before the Big Bang had always existed, and if it’s true that energy/matter cannot be created or destroyed, then what explains its existence?
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Influences from outside the observable universe explaining dark energy and expansion?
Could some influence from outside the observable universe be causing the expansion?
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1answer
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Fundamental axioms in LCDM
What are the axioms (if any) behind the LCDM model of cosmology?
NB: axioms, not postulates (e.g., inflation)
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Efficiently calculating power spectra from galaxy catalogs
I am dealing with a problem which requires calculating either the correlation function or the power spectrum. At times, the 2-point-correlator seems the better route, at others, the PS. Right now I am ...
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Correctly scaling Power Spectrum and Correlation Function of Galaxies from Mock Catalogues
I'm currently writing a code to compute the two-point correlation function of a set of galaxies. As I work with a loooot of galaxies, it was suggested to me not to do it in real space, but to compute ...
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1answer
143 views
Angular Diameter Distance
The definition of the angular diameter distance is the ratio of an object's physical transverse size to its angular size. However when I was reading my textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell by Dan Maoz ...
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2answers
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How far away is this galaxy?
Arp 299 is in the news, with most sources reporting it as 140 or 150 million light-years away. But what kind of distance is this?
The paper which is trhe source for the news item has Supplementary ...
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1answer
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Generating random galaxy catalogs for correlation functions
The galaxy correlation function, when computed directly from a galaxy catalog, relies on computing a randomly generated counterpart catalog.
When dealing with a simulated galaxy mock-catalog, where ...
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How to derive the equation for the age of a flat universe with a positive cosmological term?
Can anyone show the steps involved in deriving this equation from the friedmann equation with the cosmological constant involved
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1answer
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Does the CMB pattern evolve in a human lifetime?
I was thinking, as CMB is a snapshot of a slice of the Universe during recombination, how much the cmb is changing with time ?
I mean as we progress in time we look a CMB a bit more faraway each time, ...
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1answer
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Question on Friedman equation involving cosmological constant
This is the question:
By considering both the Friedmann and acceleration equations, and assuming a pressureless
Universe, demonstrate that in order to have a static Universe we must have
a closed ...
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1answer
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Question from Introduction to Modern Cosmolgy by Andrew Liddle
The exact question goes like this:
In the real Universe the expansion is not completely uniform. Rather, galaxies exhibit
some random motion relative to the overall Hubble expansion, known as their
...
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1answer
112 views
Tests for code that computes two-point correlation function of galaxies
I'm currently writing a code to compute the two-point correlation function of a set of galaxies. As I work with a loooot of galaxies, it was suggested to me not to do it in real space, but to compute ...
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1answer
50 views
Who discovered the relation between CMB fluctuations and large-scale structure formation?
I haven't been able to find a reference to the first who showed that the small density fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background led to the formation of large scale structure as we know it.
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2answers
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Approximate conversion of redshift 'z' to a time and/or distance, when reading papers?
I'm looking for some form of "rough and ready" formula to convert between redshift z value, years since BB, and distance, so that when I read an astronomy paper and it discusses an event that occurred ...
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What is difference between horizon and comoving distances?
I wonder if there a difference between horizon and comoving distances in cosmology ?
I mean both correspond to a null geodesic $(ds^2=0)$ right ?
$$d_{horizon} (t) =a(t) \int\limits_{0}^{r} \frac{{\...
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4answers
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So where are these measurements of galaxies moving faster than light?
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/400457/what-does-general-relativity-say-about-the-relative-velocities-of-objects-that-a
"we can actually observe galaxies that are moving away from us at >...
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1answer
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What's the oldest possible age of the universe? (LCDM parameter range)
What would happen if you took today's six-parameter LCDM model down to the 5% confidence level? Understanding that the number of permutations is high, I would be particularly interested just in the ...
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1answer
218 views
Why do we continue to find a discrepancy in the Hubble Constant?
After taking a look at some recent papers (examples below) that attempt to derive the value of the Hubble Constant, they all conclude with dramatically different values (speaking in context). Why is ...
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1answer
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Flatness of celestial systems like galaxies and Solar System [duplicate]
If we look around the cosmos, we will see most of the systems are just flat disks. Either it is solar system, galaxies, or the rings of Saturn. What is the matter, does it depend on how they were ...
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2answers
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The CNO cycle in first generation of stars
I'm an undergrad interested in astophysics and this question struck my mind:
As the CNO cycle requires carbon to start, and carbon is produced by thermonuclear fusion in stars, is it fair to think ...
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1answer
174 views
Has a “white hole” theory been advanced to explain anomalous star formation in Sagittarius A?
In 2008, the European Southern Observatory reported, upon the end of a 16-year study described here http://www.eso.org/public/usa/news/eso0846/, that the 28 stars nearest the very large black hole in ...
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2answers
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How did UV from the earliest stars 'alter the state of the 21 cm line' such that it shows up in CMB today?
In this question I discuss the recent (open access) paper in Nature An absorption profile centred at 78 megahertz in the sky-averaged spectrum at length. The abstract begins:
After stars formed in ...
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1answer
242 views
Early universe's first starlight (indirectly) detected for the first time, could it have been detectable with 1970's technology?
The recent paper in Nature An absorption profile centred at 78 megahertz in the sky-averaged spectrum seems (to me at least) to be an incredibly simple and elegant experiment with far-reaching ...
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1answer
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How might WFIRST help us better understand dark energy?
In the video linked in the Space.com article What Would It Mean for Astronomers If the WFIRST Space Telescope Is Killed?, (available in YouTube as WFIRST: The Best of Both Worlds) after ...
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1answer
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Distance parallax and cosmological distance in universe in expansion
I know that we cannot measure cosmological distances with parallax, but this is more a philosophical question. Am I correct in assuming that if we could measure distances using parallax (like stellar ...
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1answer
158 views
What is the cosmic mean density?
I know cosmic mean density for baryons is around $(2\ \mathrm{to}\ 5)\times10^{-31}\ \mathrm{g/cm^3}$, assuming that Hubble's Constant is $100\ \mathrm{km/s/Mpc}$. But what is the current cosmic mean ...
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In the hypothetical holographic model for the universe, could 3D information exist in 3D?
In a holographic universe model, could our 3D universe be encoded in 3D and still be a holographic universe, instead of 3D information encoded in 2D space (D information encoded in D-1 space)?https://...
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1answer
188 views
How to convert density from physical unit to comoving unit?
I am learning co-moving units and I am interested to see how the conversion works. If Hubble constant is assumed to be 0.7, then I want to convert 1gm/cm^3 into comoving unit. If I want to express ...
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1answer
79 views
Measuring the size and the geometry of Universe [closed]
When we would be able to tell with surety that universe is finite or infinite? How can we exactly determine the density of the universe so, that we compare it with critical density, in order to ...
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1answer
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How do we measure the mass of a star?
I recently came across the book intro to cosmology by j.v. Narlikar, where it mentions about quarks and other star and inadvertently uses mass of sun as reference. I want to know how me measure mass ...
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1answer
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Critical density of the universe (no, not that one)?
I seem to recall reading something that said if the density of the universe was off by as little as one atom per cubic meter, the universe, as we know it, would not exist; one less and there wouldn't ...
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How the observed deuterium abundance constrains big bang nucleosynthesis?
I know deuterium can be used as a good tracer to constrain the big bang nucleosynthesis. But can anyone tell me the in details how this is actually done?
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How to to compute the expected number of collisions between stars when Milkyway and Andromeda merged? [duplicate]
Can some one tell me how you can roughly estimate the number of collisions when Milkyway and Andromeda merged with each other. I know it is somehow related to the mean free path of the star. But ...
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1answer
92 views
How does inflation justify the nonexistence of magnetic monopoles?
It is said that inflation justifies that magnetic monopoles don't exist. Can anyone explain how inflation theory explains the non existence of magnetic monopoles?
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2answers
154 views
Is the universe eternal?
I understand that as the universe continues to expand, eventually our supply of hydrogen will be exhausted and then it's "lights out." Is that really going to happen or is there something "eternal" ...
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1answer
125 views
Where are heavier elements than iron produced?
Specifically in the milky way, if that changes anything.
I feel like it should be in the disk, since stars there are richer in heavier elements, but I'm not sure.
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1answer
501 views
How do you convert an observed magnitude to a flux? [duplicate]
For a series of supernovae I have the observed magnitude and I want to convert these values to flux.
I understand that I need to apply:
m - M_r = -2.5log_10(F/F_r)
where M_r is a 'reference ...
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1answer
332 views
What will the universe be like in a googolplex years time?
It will be cold and dark in 10^(10^100) years.
What else can be said of the state of things in the far distant future? Will everything have fallen into supermassive black holes and then radiated ...
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Collision with Andromeda Galaxy
According to hubble's law,
Universe is expanding and this expansion is proportional to distance between the two objects and thus objects are moving away at a very fast rate, then why is it predicted ...
