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Almost-homogeneity of the universe in higher-order gravity

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Abstract

In the R+αR2 gravity theory, we show that if freely propagating massless particles have an almost isotropic distribution, then the spacetime is almost Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (frw). This extends the result proved recently in general relativity (α = 0), which is applicable to the microwave background after photon decoupling. The higher-order result is in principle applicable to a massless species that decouples in the early universe, such as a relic graviton background. Any future observations that show small anisotropies in such a background would imply that the geometry of the early universe were almostfrw.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Witwatersrand University, P.O. WITS, 2050, South Africa

    David R. Taylor

  2. School of Mathematics, Portsmouth University, PO1 2EG, England

    David R. Taylor & Roy Maartens

  3. Centre for Nonlinear Studies, Witwatersrand University, 2050, South Africa

    Roy Maartens

Authors
  1. David R. Taylor
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  2. Roy Maartens
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Taylor, D.R., Maartens, R. Almost-homogeneity of the universe in higher-order gravity. Gen Relat Gravit 27, 1309–1321 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02153319

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02153319

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