Shedding Light On An Undiscovered Aspect That Perfectly Mimics Cosmic Acceleration

The comparison of redshift-distance relationship for high and low-redshift supernovae revealed the surprising transition of Universe’s expansion from deceleration to acceleration. As compared to local supernovae, remote supernovae are further away than expected. The expansion rate obtained for local supernovae is higher with low redshifts as compared to the expansion rate obtained for remote supernovae with high redshifts. Since observed redshifts provide an estimate of recession/expansion velocities in order to determine the expansion rate (km s-1 Mpc-1) of the Universe, therefore, it is very disturbing to find that low recession velocities (just 1% of speed of light) indicate a faster rate of expansion (acceleration), whereas high recession velocities (60% of speed of light) indicate a slower rate of expansion (deceleration). In this paper I unravel an undiscovered aspect that perfectly mimics cosmic acceleration. Rather than “cosmic deceleration that preceded the current epoch of cosmic acceleration”, I show that “consecutive expansion epochs of the Universe that preceded the current expansion epoch were responsible for placing remote supernovae further away than expected”. As a consequence of consecutive expansion, expansion began for remote structures in preceding expansion epochs before it did for local structures in the current expansion epoch; remote supernovae are therefore not only further away than expected, but they also happen to yield a slower rate of expansion even with “superluminal expansion velocities”. As a result of consecutive expansion, preceding expansion epochs appear to be decelerating as compared to the expansion epoch that succeeds them. The results obtained have been confirmed by plotting velocity-distance relationship, expansion rate vs. time relationship, expansion factor vs. time relationship, scale factor vs. time relationship, scale factor vs. distance relationship, distance-redshift relationship, and distance modulus vs. redshift relationship, moreover, deceleration parameter (q0) is also found to be negative (q0 < 0).

INFLATION AND THE MINIMAL SUPERSYMMETRIC STANDARD MODEL

There is strong evidence from cosmological data that the universe underwent an epoch of superluminal expansion called inflation. A satisfactory embedding of inflation in fundamental physics has been an outstanding problem at the interface of cosmology and high energy physics. We show how inflation can be realized within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The inflaton candidates are two specific combinations of supersymmetric partners of quarks and leptons. MSSM inflation occurs at a low scale and generates perturbations in the range experimentally allowed by the latest data from Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). The parameter space for inflation is compatible with supersymmetric dark matter, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is capable of discovering the inflaton candidates in the allowed regions of parameter space.

Expanding Confusion: Common Misconceptions of Cosmological Horizons and the Superluminal Expansion of the Universe

We use standard general relativity to illustrate and clarify several common misconceptions about the expansion of the universe. To show the abundance of these misconceptions we cite numerous misleading, or easily misinterpreted, statements in the literature. In the context of the new standard ΛCDM cosmology we point out confusions regarding the particle horizon, the event horizon, the ‘observable universe’ and the Hubble sphere (distance at which recession velocity = c). We show that we can observe galaxies that have, and always have had, recession velocities greater than the speed of light. We explain why this does not violate special relativity and we link these concepts to observational tests. Attempts to restrict recession velocities to less than the speed of light require a special relativistic interpretation of cosmological redshifts. We analyze apparent magnitudes of supernovae and observationally rule out the special relativistic Doppler interpretation of cosmological redshifts at a confidence level of 23σ.

Apparent Relativistic Motion in Cygnus X-3

Weak and strong flaring has been observed at cm-wavelengths on Cygnus X-3. The weak flares seem to have different statistical properties to those of the strong flares. Previous observations have shown the ejection of radio emitting blobs at around 0.3c following major flares. However recent VLBA observations show apparent superluminal expansion and contraction during weak flaring.

High Energy Phenomena in AGN Jets

BL-Lac objects and optically violent variable quasars (OVVs), called together blazars, are characterized by rapid time variability, strong optical polarization, superluminal expansion and strong gamma-ray emission. Such properties are understood in the framework of a relativistic jet emanated from the central powerhouse. Blazars are considered to be objects for which the direction of the jet is very close to the line of sight.

VLBI Observations of Gravitational Lens Systems

Four specific and particularly powerful types of possible VLBI lens studies are discussed. First, comparison of mas scale structure in putative pairs of images separated by arc seconds can provide a powerful additional test of the lens hypothesis in specific candidate systems. Second, VLBI searches for lens systems with image separations too small for resolution by optical or VLA searches will limit (or even determine!) the cosmological density of condensed objects with individual masses ∼ 106M⊙. Third, study of multiply imaged superluminal expansion events will allow a determination of the light travel time delay between different images in a lens system, a quantity which is quite difficult to measure by other means but which would allow profound cosmological tests. Fourth, VLBI data can be used to determine relative image parities and even the full magnification matrix of various images in a lens system, thus providing powerful additional constraints on detailed lens models. Finally, the speculative possibility of detecting Galactic stellar lensing events using VLBI techniques is discussed.

Dual Relativistic Effects in Compact Radio Sources

Dual relativistic effects in compact radio sources are discussed, and as an illustrative example we try to show that the observed features of the knot C4 in 3C345 (superluminal motion, superluminal expansion, apparent diameter and flux variation etc.) can be interpreted simultaneously.