Bonn 2010 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 24: Theoretische Astroteilchenphysik und Kosmologie II

T 24.9: Talk

Thursday, March 18, 2010, 18:45–19:00, HG XV

Explaining supernova distances without Dark Energy: voids and Swiss Cheese — •Wessel Valkenburg — RWTH Aachen, Germany

The most widely applied cosmological model needs to invoke Dark Energy or a Cosmological Constant to be able to explain the observed distances to supernovae at high redshifts. However, as Dark Energy has some flaws from a theoretical point of view, many attempts are made to explain the distance-redshift relation in a universe containing only baryonic and dark matter. I will overview some models in which the distribution of matter is so far from perturbative, that it can potentially explain the observed distance-redshift relation. When we are living in a large local void, or in the limit where the universe is saturated with voids and structures (Swiss Cheese), we can observe the distance-redshift relation as we see it today, even without an accelerated expansion of the whole universe. Then I will point out difficulties and weaknesses for these models, and show why they may or may not be a viable alternative to Dark Energy.