Applied and Computational Mathematics Seminar

Seminar Details

Speaker:
Eoin O'Colgain
Affiliation:
Atlantic Technological University
Title:
Is H0 a constant in modern cosmology?
Time:
11AM Friday 5 April, 2024
Location:
Science East 0.32

Mathematically, the Hubble constant H0 arises as an integration constant in the Friedmann equations once one assumes the Universe is isotropic and homogeneous. Thus, consistency demands that H0 is observationally a constant. Observationally, one either i) determines H0 in the local Universe without a cosmological model or ii) constrains H0 as a fitting parameter in a cosmological model. i) and ii) need not agree when one has a bad model. I will present preliminary results showing that the current standard model is a bad model. This supports a "Hubble tension" that is physical in origin. Restoring the angles, H0 should also not vary on the sky. I will argue that we are now at a precision where variations in H0 on the sky are evident. This has implications for the 100-year-old assumption that the Universe is isotropic and homogeneous. Cosmology appears to be on the cusp of another paradigm shift, but arguably a more cataclysmic rewrite than usual.

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