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Solved Problems in Cosmology

1. The document discusses various topics in cosmology, including deriving an expression for the evolution of the scale factor in a universe containing both matter and radiation. 2. It estimates the redshift at which the densities of matter and radiation are equal, and discusses the geodesic equation and how particle momentum evolves with scale factor. 3. Additionally, it addresses the age of the universe if assumed to always be matter dominated, particle horizons in different universe models, and ratios of photon and baryon number densities.

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Agung Prawira Negara
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190 views15 pages

Solved Problems in Cosmology

1. The document discusses various topics in cosmology, including deriving an expression for the evolution of the scale factor in a universe containing both matter and radiation. 2. It estimates the redshift at which the densities of matter and radiation are equal, and discusses the geodesic equation and how particle momentum evolves with scale factor. 3. Additionally, it addresses the age of the universe if assumed to always be matter dominated, particle horizons in different universe models, and ratios of photon and baryon number densities.

Uploaded by

Agung Prawira Negara
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
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Cosmology

1. Universe with matter and radiation. Derive an expression for the evolution of
the scale factor in a universe that contains both matter and radiation. Hint: You may
find it easiest to express this evolution in terms of conformal time η, where
Z t
dt0
η= (1)
a(t0 )

2. Matter-radiation equality. Estimate the redshift at which the densities of matter


and radiation are equal, given that

ρm0 =1.9 × 10−32 Ωm0 h2 kgcm−3 (2)


−37 −3
ρr0 =7.8 × 10 kgcm (3)

H0 = 100hkms−1 Mpc, h ∼ 0.7 and Ωm0 ≈ 0.3.

3. Geodesic equation. The geodesic equation, describing the motion of particles in a


curved space time can be written as,
dpµ
+ Γµαβ pα pβ = 0 (4)
dλ
where we have chosen to normalise the affine parameter as pµ = dxµ /dλ. By considering
the zeroth component of the geodesic equation determine how particle three-momentum
evolves with scale factor in an FRW universe.

4. Age of the universe.


It is conventional to define the ‘beginning’ of the universe as a = 0. Estimate the age
of the universe by assuming that it is always matter dominated.

5. Causal Contact. A particle horizon exists in our universe if the proper distance to
that horizon is finite. Show that
Z a
a
dH = (Ωm0 a + Ωr0 + ΩΛ a4 )1/2 da (5)
H0 0
and determine whether particle horizons exist in matter, radiation, and cosmological
constant dominated universes.

1
6. Photons and baryons. Estimate the ratio of the photon and baryon number densities
if Ωb0 = 0.05, most baryons are Hydrogen and the photon temperature today is Tγ0 =
2.75 K.

7. (Number) densities and pressure. Derive the equations (40), (41) and (54-56)
in the lecture notes describing the number density, density and pressure of relativistic,
and non-relativistic matter from the distribution function in equation (36).

8. Collision-less damping. In treating matter as a perfect fluid we have neglected the


smoothing of perturbations that comes from the ability of collision-less particles to
stream out of over- and into under-dense regions. Show that the characteristic scale of
this damping during radiation domination is
 
2tN R tN R teq
rF S = + ln (6)
aN R aN R tN R

where N R indicates the time at which the particle becomes non-relativistic.

9. Silk damping. At temperatures T  me the photon mean free path is λγ ≈ 1/(ne σT ).


Silk damping is the damping caused by photons diffusing out of over dense regions and
damping inhomogeneities in the photon-baryon plasma. Show that the typical scale
of Silk damping from the photon diffusion length, after matter radiation equality and
before recombination, is
3 tdec
λ2S = λγ (tdec ) (7)
5 a2dec

10. Mészáros effect. Determine how matter fluctuations grow with time in a radiation
dominated universe.

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