Distances in Cosmology

REVIEW OF “WORLD MODELS”

Simplify notation by adopting c=1, so that E=m. Friedmann's

equation is then:

.
Substitute H(t)= a/a and recall that we can formally associate
an energy density with the cosmological constant, i.e

The index i refers to the type of particle fluid under consideration,

e.g. matter or radiation. If the Universe is flat (k=0):
Let us define the fraction of the critical density contributed by
each component of the Universe :

So that we have Ωm , Ωr and ΩΛ for matter, radiation and dark energy.

These quantities are time-dependent, the values today are denoted as
Ωm,0 We can rewrite the Friedmann eqn:

If we define Ωk = -k/(aH)2, we can write:

 Flat FRW Cosmologies
In the last lecture we showed that the density of matter evolves as:

Set a0=1. The Friedmann equation becomes:

or

In a flat Universe, ΩΛ,0 + Ωm,0=1.

Case 1: Λ>0 Use the substitution:

to obtain

Take the positive root:

This can be integrated by completing the square in the u-integral
and with substitutions v = u + 1 and cosh w = v:

to yield the solution:

Case 2, Λ < 0: Introduce

Solution:
Case 3, Λ=0 : This is now the Einstein-deSitter case which we have
already encountered in the last lecture.
A flat, pressureless universe with a small, but non-zero, cosmo-
logical constant initially evolves as if it were Einstein-deSitter.

Fo r Λ > 0, the second term on the right-hand side of these

equations dominates at large values of t and the universe grows
exponentially:
A wide variety of world models are conceivable,
depending on the values of the parameters Ω.
Observational cosmologists are interested in
assessing which, if any, of these models is a valid
description of the universe we live in. The
measurements on which these tests are based
generally involve the redshifts and radiant fluxes
of distant sources.
 Cosmological Redshifts

We show that the redshift is directly related to the scale factor

of the universe at the time the photons were emitted from the
source as:

We begin with the Robertson-Walker metric:

In general relativity the propagation of light is along a null

geodesic (ds = 0). With the observer at the origin (r = 0),
we choose a radial null geodesic so that dθ = dφ = 0, so
that

(+ is for emitted light ray, - is for a received one)

Imagine now that one crest of the light wave was emitted at time te at
distance re , and received at the origin r0 = 0 at t0 , and that the next
wave crest was emitted at te+Δte and received at t0+Δt0. The two
waves satisfy the relations:

and
 Subtract the two equations:

Expand

to obtain:

Any change in a(t) during the time intervals between successive

wave crests can be safely neglected, so that a(t) is a constant with
respect to the time integration. Consequently,
 The time interval between successive wave crests is the inverse of
the frequency of the light wave, related to its wavelength by the
relation
c = λ·ν, so that

Time Evolution of the Hubble Parameter

In a flat Universe, so that we can write the
Friedmann equation as:

or

We can thus write Ωλ,0

The right-hand side is often referred to as E(z), so that H(z)= H0 E(z) 1/2
We can derive a relationship between time t and redshift z by
considering the following:

and

so that

The age of the Universe is

In Einstein-de Sitter
cosmology, Ωm=1, Ωλ=0:
 Cosmological Distances
1. Proper Distances

We define a proper distance, as the distance between two events,

A and B, in a reference frame for which they occur simultaneously
(tA = tB).
Once again, we start with the Robertson-Walker metric,

and set dθ=dφ=0 and dt=0, so that

This has solutions:

In a flat universe, the proper distance to an object is just its

coordinate distance, s(t) = a(t) · r. Because sin−1(x) > x and
sinh−1(x) < x, in a closed universe (k > 0) the proper distance to an
object is greater than its coordinate distance, while in an open
universe (k < 0) the proper distance to an object is less than its
coordinate distance.
The Horizon
As the universe expands and ages, an observer at any point is able
to see increasingly distant objects as the light from them has time to
arrive. This means that, as time progresses, increasingly larger
regions of the universe come into causal contact with the observer.
The proper distance to the furthest observable point—the particle
horizon— at time t is the horizon distance, sh(t).

Again we return to the Robertson-Walker metric, placing an

observer at the origin (r = 0) and let the particle horizon for this
observer at time t be located at radial coordinate distance rhor. This
means that a photon emitted at t = 0 at rhor will reach our observer
at the origin at time t.
Since photons move along null geodesics, ds = 0. Considering only
radially traveling photons (dθ = dφ = 0), we find
If the scale factor evolves with time as a(t) = tα, we can see that
the above time integral diverges as we approach t = 0, if α>1.
This
would imply that the whole universe in is causal contact.
However,
α=1/2 and 2/3 in the radiation and matter-dominated regime, so
there
is a horizon.
The proper distance from the origin to rhor is given by:

for k=0

So shor(t)=2ct in the radiation-dominated era and shor(t)=3ct in

the matter-dominated era.

Notice that these distances are larger than ct, the distance travelled
by a photon in time t. How could this be? The reason lies in our
definition of proper distance, as the distance between two events
measured in a frame of reference where those two events happen
at the same time.

To understand this, consider a photon in emitted at comoving

radial coordinate rhor at time t = 0. We want to know what is the
proper distance of that photon from our position, at r = 0, at a
later time t.The coordinate of the photon at time t may be found
by integrating
As before, we consider zero curvature models.Substituting for a(t)
we obtain:

where t0 = 2tH/3 is the present age of the universe. Recalling that

rhor = 2c/H0, and that the proper distance in a flat universe is
just s(t) = a(t) · r, we find that the proper distance of the photon
from Earth as a function of time is
 We can now see that the initial expansion actually carried the photon
away from Earth. Although the photon’s co-moving coordinate was always
decreasing from an initial value rhor towards Earth’s position at r = 0, the
scale factor a(t) increased so rapidly that at first the proper distance
between the photon and Earth increased with time.
Re-writing in terms of the redshift corresponding to time t ( k = 0),
3. Angular Diameter Distance

Consider a light source of size D at r = r1 and t = t1 subtending an

angle δθ at the origin (r = 0, t = t0). The proper distance D
between the two ends of the object is related to δθ by,

We now define the angular diameter distance

so that
We are again studying the propagation of light, so following a similar
derivation leads to the expression:

Note that dA(z) has a maximum at zm, corresponding to the

redshift at which objects of a given proper size D will subtend
the minimum angle δθ on the sky. At redshifts z > zm objects of
a given proper size will appear bigger on the sky with increasing
z.
Things at higher redshift look bigger again because space-
time was compressed when the light was emitted,
i.e the galaxies were closer to us that they are today!
The dependence of the angular diameter distance on cosmological prompted
a number of tests of the geometry of the universe based on measuring the
angular size of different sources: STANDARD RULERS
One excellent standard ruler is the first peak in the angular power spectrum
of the temperature fluctuations of the CMB. One can calculate the typical size
of an overdense region at the time the microwave photons started to stream
free. As we also know the redshift of this last scattering surface, we can
compare their ratio to the observed angular size and hence obtain a very
accurate measurement of the curvature of the universe. The favoured solution
is that we live in a flat universe, with k=0.
 Horizon “problem”
shor(z = 1100) = 164 kpc. To find the angle subtended on the
sky by this diameter we divide by the angular distance which, is
given by:
Why is the CMB radiation so isotropic over angular scales much
larger than the horizon scale at the time of decoupling?
The solution to the horizon problem provided by inflationary
theories is that there must have been a very early period of rapid
expansion, when the scale factor of the universe increased
exponentially:
a(t) α exp(Ht) .
3. Luminosity Distance (standard candles)

The luminosity distance dL is defined to satisfy the relation:

where Fobs is the observed flux from an astronomical source and L

is its absolute luminosity. We define flux as the energy that passes
per unit time through a unit area (so that the energy per unit time, or
the power, collected by a telescope of area A is F A); and
luminosity as the total power (energy per unit time) emitted by the
source at all wavelengths.

At distance r1, photons are spread

over a sphere of area
Recall that photons emitted with wavelength λ1 at time intervals δt1 are
received (by an observer on the surface of the sphere) at time intervals
δt0and with wavelengthλ0. Both wavelengths and time intervals are
related by

Now consider a single photon: E=hν = hc/λ

Emitted power: Received

power:

Flux measured on a sphere at

distance r1:

This implies
In practice, we do not record the light emitted at all wavelengths from
an astronomical source, but rather only a part of its electromagnetic
spectrum, between λ −Δλ and λ+Δλ . This introduces an additional
term into the expression for the luminosity distance, which accounts
for the fact that astronomical sources do not emit the same power at
all wavelengths. This factor is termed the K-correction.
Cosmological Tests using Supernovae as
Standard Candles
Note: Logarithmic scale. A a first magnitude star is about 2.512
times as bright as a second magnitude star.
Define a distance modulus:

Absolute Apparent
mag mag

If we set dL,0 at 1 Mpc:

Sensitivity of distance
modulus to cosmology
SN of type Ia are thought to be nuclear explosions of carbon/oxygen white dwarfs
in binary systems. The white dwarf (a stellar remnant supported by the degenerate
pressure of electrons)accretes matter from an evolving companion and its mass
increases toward the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses (this is the mass
above which the degenerate electrons become relativistic and the white dwarf
unstable). Near this limit there is a nuclear detonation in the core in which carbon
(or oxygen) is converted to iron. A nuclear flame propagates tot he exterior and
blows the white dwarf apart.
Supernovae
in distant
galaxies
found by
HST
 Light curves can be
scaled to yield a
“universal” shape --
So the peak brightness
can serve as a standard
candle, provided
astronomers can track
the supernovae as it
fades