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arXiv · 1002.3912

Multiscale cosmology and structure-emerging Dark Energy: A plausibility analysis

Alexander Wiegand·Thomas Buchert
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Abstract

Cosmological backreaction suggests a link between structure formation and the expansion history of the Universe. In order to quantitatively examine this connection, we dynamically investigate a volume partition of the Universe into over-- and underdense regions. This allows us to trace structure formation using the volume fraction of the overdense regions $λ_{\CM}$ as its characterizing parameter. Employing results from cosmological perturbation theory and extrapolating the leading mode into the nonlinear regime, we construct a three--parameter model for the effective cosmic expansion history, involving $λ_{\CM_{0}}$, the matter density $Ω_{m}^{\CD_{0}}$, and the Hubble rate $H_{\CD_{0}}$ of today's Universe. Taking standard values for $Ω_{m}^{\CD_{0}}$ and $H_{\CD_{0}}$ as well as a reasonable value for $λ_{\CM_{0}}$, that we derive from $N$--body simulations, we determine the corresponding amounts of backreaction and spatial curvature. We find that the obtained values that are sufficient to generate today's structure also lead to a $Λ$CDM--like behavior of the scale factor, parametrized by the same parameters $Ω_{m}^{\CD_{0}}$ and $H_{\CD_{0}}$, but without a cosmological constant. However, the temporal behavior of $λ_{\CM}$ does not faithfully reproduce the structure formation history. Surprisingly, however, the model matches with structure formation with the assumption of a low matter content, $Ω_{m}^{\CD_{0}}\approx3\%$, a result that hints to a different interpretation of part of the backreaction effect as kinematical Dark Matter. (truncated)

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Alexander Wiegand, Thomas Buchert. 2010-08-17. Multiscale cosmology and structure-emerging Dark Energy: A plausibility analysis. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.82.023523

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