A validation of the cosmic distance duality (CDD) relation, h() ( ) () () z zdz dz º+ = 1 A L 1 2 , coupling the luminosity (dL) and angular-diameter (dA) distances, is crucial because its violation would require exotic new physics. We present a model-independent test of the CDD, based on strong lensing and a reconstruction of the H II galaxy Hubble diagram using Gaussian processes, to confirm the validity of the CDD at a very high level of confidence. Using parameterizations h( )z z = +1 h0 and h( )z zz =+ + 1 h h 1 2 2, our best-fit results are h = - + 0.0147 0 0.066 0.056, and h = - + 0.1091 1 0.1568 0.1680 and h = - - + 0.0603 2 0.0988 0.0999, respectively. In spite of these strong constraints, however, we also point out that the analysis of strong lensing using a simplified single isothermal sphere (SIS) model for the lens produces some irreducible scatter in the inferred CDD data. The use of an extended SIS approximation, with a power-law density structure, yields very similar results, but does not lessen the scatter due to its larger number of free parameters, which weakens the best-fit constraints. Future work with these strong lenses should therefore be based on more detailed ray-tracing calculations to determine the mass distribution more precisely

The Universe has a gravitational horizon with a radius R-h = c/H coincident with that of the Hubble sphere. This surface separates null geodesics approaching us from those receding, and as free-falling observers within the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker space-time, we see it retreating at proper speed c, giving rise to the eponymously named cosmological model R-h = ct. As of today, this cosmology has passed over 20 observational tests, often better than Lambda CDM. The gravitational radius R-h therefore appears to be highly relevant to cosmological theory, and in this paper we begin to explore its impact on fundamental physics. We calculate the binding energy of a mass m within the horizon and demonstrate that it is equal to mc(2). This energy is stored when the particle is at rest near the observer, transitioning to a purely kinetic form equal to the particle's escape energy when it approaches R-h. In other words, a particle's gravitational coupling to that portion of the Universe with which it is causally connected appears to be the origin of rest-mass energy.

We examine whether a comparison between wCDM and $R_{\textrm{h}}=ct$ using merged Type-Ia SN catalogs produces results consistent with those based on a single homogeneous sample. Using the Betoule et al. (Astron. Astrophys., 568 (2014) 22). Joint Lightcurve Analysis (JLA) of a combined sample of 613 events from SNLS and SDSS-II, we estimate the parameters of the two models and compare them. We find that the improved statistics can alter the model selection in some cases, but not others. In addition, based on the model fits, we find that there appears to be a lingering systematic offset of ~0.04–0.08 mag between the SNLS and SDSS-II sources, in spite of the cross-calibration in the JLA. Treating wCDM, ΛCDM and $R_{\textrm{h}}=ct$ as separate models, we find in an unbiased pairwise statistical comparison that the Bayes Information Criterion (BIC) favors the $R_{\textrm{h}}=ct$ Universe with a likelihood of $82.8\%$ vs. $17.2\%$ for wCDM, but the ratio of likelihoods is reversed ($16.2\%$ vs. $83.8\%$ ) when $w_{\textrm{de}}=-1$ (i.e., ΛCDM) and strongly reversed ($1.0\%$ vs. $99.0\%$ ) if in addition k = 0 (i.e., flat ΛCDM). We point out, however, that the value of k is a measure of the net energy (kinetic plus gravitational) in the Universe and is not constrained theoretically, though some models of inflation would drive $k\rightarrow 0$ due to an expansion-enforced dilution. Since we here consider only the basic ΛCDM model, the value of k needs to be measured and, therefore, the pre-assumption of flatness introduces a significant bias into the BIC.

Aims. The discovery of quasar J1342+0928 (z = 7.54) reinforces the time compression problem associated with the premature formation of structure in A cold dark matter (ACDM). Adopting the Planck parameters, we see this quasar barely 690 Myr after the big bang, no more than several hundred Myr after the transition from Pop III to Pop II star formation. Yet conventional astrophysics would tell us that a 10 M-circle dot seed, created by a Pop II/III supernova, should have taken at least 820 Myr to grow via Eddington-limited accretion. This failure by ACDM constitutes one of its most serious challenges, requiring exotic "fixes", such as anomalously high accretion rates, or the creation of enormously massive (similar to 10(5) M-circle dot) seeds, neither of which is ever seen in the local Universe, or anywhere else for that matter. Indeed, to emphasize this point, J1342+0928 is seen to be accreting at about the Eddington rate, negating any attempt at explaining its unusually high mass due to such exotic means. In this paper, we aim to demonstrate that the discovery of this quasar instead strongly confirms the cosmological timeline predicted by the R-h = Ct Universe. Methods. We assume conventional Eddington-limited accretion and the time versus redshift relation in this model to calculate when a seed needed to start growing as a function of its mass in order to reach the observed mass of J1342+0928 at z = 7.54. Results. Contrary to the tension created in the standard model by the appearance of this massive quasar so early in its history, we find that in the R-h = Ct cosmology, a 10 M-circle dot seed at z similar to 15 (the start of the Epoch of Reionization at t similar to 878 Myr) would have easily grown into an 8 x 10(8) M-circle dot black hole at z = 7.54 (t similar to 1.65 Gyr) via conventional Eddington-limited accretion.

In general relativity, a gravitational horizon (more commonly known as the "apparent horizon") an imaginary surface beyond which all null geodesics recede from the observer. The Universe has an apparent (gravitational) horizon, but unlike its counterpart in the Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics, it is not static. It may eventually turn into an event horizon-an asymptotically defined membrane that forever separates causally connected events from those that are not-depending on the equation of state of the cosmic fluid. In this paper, we examine how and why an apparent (gravitational) horizon is manifested in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric, and why it is becoming so pivotal to our correct interpretation of the cosmological data. We discuss its observational signature and demonstrate how it alone defines the proper size of our visible Universe. In so doing, we affirm its physical reality and its impact on cosmological models. (C) 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers.

A previous analysis of starburst-dominated H II galaxies and H II regions has demonstrated a statistically significant preference for the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker cosmology with zero active mass, known as the Rh = ct universe, over cold dark matter (CDM) and its related dark-matter parametrizations. In this paper, we employ a two-point diagnostic with these data to present a complementary statistical comparison of Rh = ct with Planck CDM. Our two-point diagnostic compares, in a pairwise fashion, the difference between the distance modulus measured at two redshifts with that predicted by each cosmology. Our results support the conclusion drawn by a previous comparative analysis demonstrating that Rh = ct is statistically preferred over Planck CDM. But we also find that the reported errors in the H II measurements may not be purely Gaussian, perhaps due to a partial contamination by non-Gaussian systematic effects. The use of H II galaxies and H II regions as standard candles may be improved even further with a better handling of the systematics in these sources.

Of all the distance arid temporal measures in cosmology, the angular-diameter distance, d(A)(z), uniquely reaches a maximum value at some finite redshift z(max )and then decreases to zero towards the Big Bang. This effect has been difficult to observe due to a lack of reliable, standard rulers, though refinements to the identification of the compact structure in radio quasars may have overcome this deficiency. In this letter, we assemble a catalog of 140 such sources with 0 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 3 for model selection and the measurement of z(max). In flat Lambda CDM, we find that Omega(m) = 0.24(-0.09)(+0.1) fully consistent with the Planck optimized value, with z(max) = 1.69. Both of these values are associated with a d(A)(z) indistinguishable from that predicted by the zero active mass condition, rho + 3p = 0, in terms of the total pressure rho and total energy density rho of the cosmic fluid. An expansion driven by this constraint, known as the Rh = ct universe, has z(max )= 1.718, which differs from the Lambda CDM optimized value by less than similar to 1.6%. Indeed, the Bayes Information Criterion favours R-h = ct over flat Lambda CDM with a likelihood of similar to 81% vs. 19%, suggesting that the optimized parameters in Planck Lambda CDM mimic the constraint p = -rho/3.

To understand the formation and evolution of galaxies at redshifts 0 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 10, one must invariably introduce specific models (e.g., for the star formation) in order to fully interpret the data. Unfortunately, this tends to render the analysis compliant to the theory and its assumptions, so consensus is still some-what elusive. Nonetheless, the surprisingly early appearance of massive galaxies challenges the standard model, and the halo mass function estimated from galaxy surveys at z greater than or similar to 4 appears to be inconsistent with the predictions of Lambda CDM, giving rise to what has been termed "The Impossibly Early Galaxy Problem" by some workers in the field. A simple resolution to this question may not be forthcoming. The situation with the halos themselves, however, is more straightforward and, in this paper, we use linear perturbation theory to derive the halo mass function over the redshift range 0 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 10 for the R-h = ct universe. We use this predicted halo distribution to demonstrate that both its dependence on mass and its very weak dependence on redshift are compatible with the data. The difficulties with Lambda CDM may eventually be overcome with refinements to the underlying theory of star formation and galaxy evolution within the halos. For now, however, we demonstrate that the unexpected early formation of structure may also simply be due to an incorrect choice of the cosmology, rather than to yet unknown astrophysical issues associated with the condensation of mass fluctuations and subsequent galaxy formation.

In general relativity, a gravitational horizon (more commonly known as the "apparent horizon") an imaginary surface beyond which all null geodesics recede from the observer. The Universe has an apparent (gravitational) horizon, but unlike its counterpart in the Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics, it is not static. It may eventually turn into an event horizon-an asymptotically defined membrane that forever separates causally connected events from those that are not-depending on the equation of state of the cosmic fluid. In this paper, we examine how and why an apparent (gravitational) horizon is manifested in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric, and why it is becoming so pivotal to our correct interpretation of the cosmological data. We discuss its observational signature and demonstrate how it alone defines the proper size of our visible Universe. In so doing, we affirm its physical reality and its impact on cosmological models. (C) 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers.

Quasars at high redshift provide direct information on the mass growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and, in turn, yield important clues about how the universe evolved since the first (Pop III) stars started forming. Yet even basic questions regarding the seeds of these objects and their growth mechanism remain unanswered. The anticipated launch of eROSITA and ATHENA is expected to facilitate observations of high-redshift quasars needed to resolve these issues. In this paper, we compare accretion-based SMBH growth in the concordance Lambda CDM model with that in the alternative Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology known as the R-h = ct universe. Previous work has shown that the timeline predicted by the latter can account for the origin and growth of the greater than or similar to 10(9) M-circle dot highest redshift quasars better than that of the standard model. Here, we significantly advance this comparison by determining the soft X-ray flux that would be observed for Eddington-limited accretion growth as a function of redshift in both cosmologies. Our results indicate that a clear difference emerges between the two in terms of the number of detectable quasars at redshift z greater than or similar to 7, raising the expectation that the next decade will provide the observational data needed to discriminate between these two models based on the number of detected high-redshift quasar progenitors. For example, while the upcoming ATHENA mission is expected to detect similar to 0.16 (i.e., essentially zero) quasars at z similar to 7 in R-h = ct, it should detect similar to 160 in Lambda CDM-a quantitatively compelling difference.