Hamburg 2016 – scientific programme

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GR: Fachverband Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie

GR 8: Poster

GR 8.7: Poster

Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 17:30–19:00, VMP6 Foyer

The Question of Dark Energy — •Albrecht Giese — Taxusweg 15, 22605 Hamburg

Dark energy is considered to be one of the great mysteries of present-day physics. From measurements of the motion of type Ia supernovae, it is concluded that the universe is undergoing accelerated expansion. To explain this, it is assumed that the universe is filled with some type of ("dark") energy.

However, there is an unspectacular explanation for this observation.

We can assume that the speed of light 'c' was higher in earlier times. Inserting this into the Doppler equation for determining early speeds using red shifts yields higher speeds for early stars. So there is no acceleration.

Mainstream physics objects to this, however, arguing that according to Einstein c has always been constant. This was not clearly stated by Einstein, however, and is anyway in conflict with the assumed cosmological inflation:

Cosmological inflation was introduced to explain the horizon problem, i.e. the apparent logical connection of parts of the universe far apart from each other. It assumes that after the big bang 'space' was extremely small. It then expanded, first rapidly then slowly, up to the present day. But to what is c related? To the actual size of space or to an assumed non-changing background? The first assumption would not be a solution for the horizon problem; the second means that, in relation to actual space c has to decrease with time; which refutes dark energy.