Unveiling the Dark Energy - The Expanding Universe
- 6 Jan 2001To confirm these results, SNAP would discover many type Ia supernovae at redshifts greater than any yet found. Because of SNAP's ability to measure their light curves and spectra to high precision, any uncertainties concerning the brightness and redshift of very distant supernovae can be minimized.
SNAP's optics will serve a set of precision instruments:
- a billion-pixel CCD camera with a 1-square-degree field of view and quantum efficiency greater than 80 percent, with wavelength coverage from 350 nanometers to 1 micrometer
- an infrared imager with up to 10 x 10 arcminutes field of view
- a 3-arm spectrograph sensitive to wavelengths from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared
Unlike most astronomical CCDs currently in use, which have relatively poor response to red and infrared light and are difficult to combine in large arrays, SNAP will use radiation-tolerant, high-resistivity CCDs based on Berkeley Lab's experience with detectors developed for high-energy physics. These can be combined in large-format mosaics and will extend sensitivity into the infrared, creating an ideal tool for finding distant, high-redshift supernovae.
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Scientists refer to the shape of the universe as closed, open or flat. A breif explanation of these terms, is here. |
Prelude to discovery
For over ten years the Supernova Cosmology Project, supported by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and NASA, has been studying the expansion of the universe by measuring the redshift and brightness of distant type Ia supernovae.
Type Ia supernovae - stars that explode in thermonuclear cataclysms brighter than entire galaxies - make ideal "standard candles" with which to survey the universe. Their light curves and spectra are all nearly alike and they are bright enough to be seen across billions of light years.
By 1998 a few score type Ia supernovae had been analyzed in detail, enough to lead the Supernova Cosmology Project and their colleagues in the High-Z Supernova Search Team to the startling discovery that the expansion of the universe is not slowing, as had been expected, but accelerating.
Redshift in an accelerating universe
As light travels through space, space itself is expanding. The effect is to stretch light waves and shift their color toward the red end of the spectrum.
In [1] the aether has the important property that it is not sense or seen when it is undisturbed. Thus, the aether is a possible form of âBlack Matterâ. Moreover, if this be the case the aether and any fluid motions superimposed on it follow the nonlinear Euler equations for the adiabatic monatomic ideal fluid. Therefore, all findings in [1] may possibly apply to the present laws of mathematical physics.
[1]"The Pervasive Hubble Expansion of the Universe". See, www.drleifrongved.com
Posted by: guest - 2008-06-13 - 16:46 GMT
Dr. Leif Rongved wishes to make an additional comment.
The predictable brightness of type 1a super Novae definitely shows that their brightness is greater than predicted by present theories of physics and the Hubble law. The brightness of quasars, believed to be distant galaxies, is not predictable. Their brightness may be different for many reasons. They may be galaxies of different size. They may be galaxies in the process of formation. However, all quasars with red shifts near or above unity have orders of magnitude greater than predicted by the straight line Hubble relation for standard galaxies. See for example Burbidge, G R and Burbidge E M, Quasi-Stellar Objects-A Progress Report, Nature, Volume 224, pages 21-24, October 1969. Thus the brightness of Novae adds support to the notion that quasars may well be distant galaxies. Moreover, both Novae and quasars with red shifts near or above unity suggests that the straight line Hubble relation for standard galaxies is incorrect.
Presently there is a widespread tendency in mathematical physics and astronomy to propose ad hoc laws to fix a specific inequity of present laws of physics. One is that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. An other is that curved space exerts a drag on the earths motions. There are other inequities waiting to be resolved. For example, the derivation of the cosmological red shift is a questionable application of Dopplerâs law.
There is a purely analytical paper in exact accord with Eulerâs nonlinear equations, The Pervasive Hubble Expansion of the Universe, which shows that the Hubble expansion is only a small part of a pervasive Hubble law. In one scoop the pervasive Hubble law resolves all the above mentioned inequities. Moreover, it resolves all paradoxes and peculiarities associated with Einsteinâs theories that have irritated and puzzled many scientists for years. The paper is presently under review for publication. However, a PDF format of it is available on the web site, www.drleifrongved.com.
Remarkably the paper is in complete accord with all present laws of physics at the present time. It suggests changes to all laws of physics by about one part in 10 billion parts per year as long as the distances fore or back in time are much less than the Hubble age of the universe. The changes increase without limits when the distance back in time approaches the Hubble age.
Posted by: guest - 2007-11-26 - 05:40 GMT
The Accelerating Expansion of the Universe is a Figment of Imagination.
The brightness of type Ia supernovae is very predictable. Their observed brightness is used to predict their distances away from us. This type Novae within galaxies with red shifts near and above unity are brighter than expected from their distances away. There are now several assumptions around to explain the larger than expected brightness of Novae.
One assumption is that galaxies near us recede with greater velocity than galaxies farther away. An other is that all galaxies accelerate away from us. By these assumptions and the observed large scale isotropy of the universe the acceleration must be the same in all directions relative to us. Or the acceleration must be a function of their distances away from us. Since all galaxies accelerate away from us the forces on their near sides must be greater than the forces on their far sides. Therefore, if âitâ is whatever accelerates the galaxies, âitâ must be greatest at our galaxy and must diminish as one proceeds on any radial line away from us.
This is OK if we assume that we are at the center of the universe, which is an entirely unacceptable assumption.
Or it is OK if we assume that âitâ is at the present time greater at any given galaxy of the universe and less at all others, which is also an unacceptable assumption.
Or it is OK if one can show that âitâ, uniformly distributed throughout the universe, causes the galaxies to accelerate away from us. This notion is completely at odds with our every day experience. We are exposed to an atmospheric pressure of about 15 lb. per square inch. This pressure does not push us apart, because it is equal on all sides of us. It does reduce our volumes a bit so that the pressure is sensibly constant throughout our body.
It is of interest to note that the Hubble expansion is in exact accord with Eulerâs nonlinear equations for all ideal fluids where the fluid pressure is a function of the fluid density. See for example, Rongved, L. "Fluid Dynamics of an Expanding Ideal Fluid", Quarterly of Applied Mathematics, Vol. XLVII, Num. 4, p 735-745. 1980. In this expansion the fluid pressure and density are gradually diminishing with time. However, they are uniform throughout space at any given time.
Another important property of the Hubble expansion is that on a large scale it is identical relative to all galaxies of the universe. Any galaxy will appear to be at the center of the expansion. It is in accord with the observed isotropy and uniformity of the universe on a large scale. Thus, the Hubble expansion makes sense for more than one reason. The accelerating expansion makes no sense at all!
For an explanation of the greater than expected brightness of Novae and quasars see the web site, www.drleifrongved.com. In one scoop one resolve the brightness problem and several outstanding questions and paradoxes of mathematical physics and astronomy.
Posted by: guest - 2007-11-15 - 11:55 GMT
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