# References

What is the homogeneity of our universe telling us?

Mark Trodden<sup>1</sup><sup>1</sup>1trodden@erebus.cwru.edu and Tanmay Vachaspati<sup>2</sup><sup>2</sup>2tanmay@theory4.cwru.edu

Particle Astrophysics Theory Group   
Department of Physics   
Case Western Reserve University   
10900 Euclid Avenue   
Cleveland, OH 44106-7079, USA

## Abstract

The universe we observe is homogeneous on super-horizon scales, leading to the “cosmic homogeneity problem”. Inflation alleviates this problem but cannot solve it within the realm of conservative extrapolations of classical physics. A probabilistic solution of the problem is possible but is subject to interpretational difficulties. A genuine deterministic solution of the homogeneity problem requires radical departures from known physics.

Awarded Honorable Mention in the 1999 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition.

CWRU-P20-99

It is well known that the standard cosmological model has a homogeneity problem: why is the temperature of the cosmic microwave background the same to a high degree of accuracy in regions that have never been in causal contact? This observation is one of the primary motivations for the concept of inflation , which has been the foundation of a revolution in cosmology over the last two decades. The rapid expansion of cosmic inflation can stretch an initially small, smooth spatial region to a size much larger than the observable universe today, providing a hope of explaining the present day large-scale homogeneity of the universe.

While the observed homogeneity is a compelling reason to study inflation in detail, the mechanism can only truly be said to solve the homogeneity problem if the initial smooth region from which inflation begins is causally correlated, so that its own homogeneity is achievable by physical processes. Otherwise, we are left with the problem of understanding the homogeneity of the initial inflating patch; another, albeit less severe, homogeneity problem.

It is then a striking result that, under certain conservative assumptions, if the universe is not born inflating, large-scale homogeneity is required for inflation to begin . Hence classical inflationary models which employ conservative extrapolations of known physics, can only be considered to alleviate, but not solve, the homogeneity problem. Furthermore, the extensions to known physics that are required to solve the homogeneity problem are quite novel and provide hints that may be used to construct new physical theories.

The main constraint on inflationary models comes from the requirement that gravitational forces not be “too repulsive”. This constraint can be embodied in the Raychauhuri equation governing the divergences of light rays (i.e. null geodesics) which says that, if $`\theta =_aN^a`$ denotes the divergence of a congruence of null geodesics whose tangent vectors are $`N^a`$, then

$$\frac{d\theta }{d\tau }+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^2=\sigma _{ab}\sigma ^{ab}+\omega _{ab}\omega ^{ab}R_{ab}N^aN^b,$$
(1)   
where $`\tau `$ is the affine parameter along the null geodesic, $`\sigma _{ab}`$ is the shear tensor, $`\omega _{ab}`$ the twist tensor and $`R_{ab}`$ the Ricci tensor. For a specially chosen congruence of null rays - one that is hypersurface orthogonal - it can be shown  that,

$$\frac{d\theta }{d\tau }R_{ab}N^aN^b=8\pi T_{ab}N^aN^b,$$
(2)   
where $`T_{ab}`$ is the energy-momentum tensor, and in the last equality we have used Einstein’s equations in natural units.

The weak energy condition concerns the energy-momentum tensor of the matter. This condition is satisfied by all known matter at the classical level, and it seems reasonable to assume that it should be satisfied generally. A straightforward consequence is

$$T_{ab}N^aN^b0,$$
(3)   
which for a perfect fluid amounts to requiring a positive energy density, $`\rho 0`$, and a pressure that is bounded from below by minus the energy density: $`p\rho `$. The Raychaudhuri equation, in conjunction with the weak energy condition, then leads to

$$\frac{d\theta }{d\tau }0.$$
(4)   
This equation is a form of the physical statement that the gravitational forces between reasonable matter should not be too repulsive. Were negative energy densities or arbitrarily large negative pressures allowed in the theory, the statement would not be true.

We want to understand the implications of the constraint (4) for inflationary models. Consider a universe in which, due to causal processes, a small patch is undergoing inflation but is immersed in a spacetime which itself may be expanding but not inflating. Then there are null rays that originate in the background spacetime and enter the inflating region. We can calculate $`\theta `$ in both the background region and the inflating region. In fact, if the expansion of both regions is given by a scale factor ($`a(t)`$) as in the standard cosmology, radially incoming null rays have a divergence given by

$$\theta =\frac{2}{a(t)}\left(H\frac{1}{x}\right),$$
(5)   
where, as usual, $`H=\dot{a}/a`$ and $`x`$ is the physical radial distance of the ray at time $`t`$. Eq. (4) implies that $`\theta `$ cannot be negative in the background region and positive in the inflating region which, when used in conjunction with (5), gives:

$$H_{\mathrm{inf}}^1H_{\mathrm{FRW}}^1(t_i),$$
(6)   
where $`t_i`$ is the time that inflation started and the subscripts refer to the inflating (inf) and non-inflating (FRW) spacetimes.

It seems reasonable to assume that the conditions leading to inflation must be satisfied over a region larger than $`H_{\mathrm{inf}}^1`$. Then, from eq. (6), the patch size that can inflate to form our observable universe has to be larger than the background Hubble scale, $`H_{\mathrm{FRW}}^1(t_i)`$. Note that $`H^1`$ is large compared to typical length scales over which particle interactions can homogenize the universe. Hence, large-scale homogeneity has to be an initial condition for cosmic inflation to proceed, and therefore such inflation does not solve the homogeneity problem. This is the striking result alluded to earlier.

Nevertheless, the universe does exhibit large-scale homogeneity, the only proposed explanation for which is inflation. It is therefore worthwhile considering what it takes to genuinely solve the homogeneity problem in the context of inflationary models. The derivation of the above result does not hold if at least one of the following statements is true:

* There exist violations of the classical Einstein equations, say due to quantum effects.
* The weak energy condition is violated in the early universe.
* The universe has non-trivial topology.
* The universe is born directly into an inflating universe, that is, there is no pre-inflationary epoch, such as might occur in quantum cosmology.
* Singularities other than the big bang are present.

Probably the most conservative approach is to consider quantum effects in the early universe. We think this is conservative because we know that quantum mechanics correctly describes the world we live in, whereas the other possible options require conditions that are not seen today. However, a quantum mechanical explanation of the homogeneity is necessarily a probabilistic solution to the problem, and is subject to differing interpretations since we observe only one universe. When considering a quantum mechanical origin of the homogeneity, one must consider both the possibility of directly producing the observed universe, and the possibility of generating the appropriate inflationary initial conditions from which it could evolve. The principle behind adopting inflation as a paradigm is that it greatly enhances the probability for the creation of the universe that we see. However, this does leave open the issue of the probability of producing inflationary initial conditions themselves. An analogy might help clarify this situation. Suppose there are a hundred coins laid out on a table and we find that all of them have their heads facing up. Should we then say that the coins were thrown at random and we are simply seeing a highly unlikely chance event? Or should we say that, at a later time, someone carefully arranged the coins with their heads up? Inflation is analogous to the latter case here. However, it can only be viable if we understand the probability of a process that can “turn all the coins face up”. In the cosmological context there are anthropic considerations that confuse the interpretation yet further - it may be that we can only see a coin if its head is facing up. Such questions are extremely difficult to answer and, at present, it is fair to say that no convincing answer is known. The same difficulties (together with other technical ones) arise when one attempts to explain the creation of our universe by quantum cosmology .

Faced with the difficulties of a probabilistic interpretation of obtaining cosmic inflation via quantum processes, we may consider less conservative directions. If new kinds of matter are present that couple in novel ways to the metric, they can either modify Einstein’s equations such that the last equality in (2) does not hold, or else they can provide violations of the weak energy condition (“extremely repulsive matter”). It is interesting to note that non-minimally coupled scalar fields are a specific example of matter that can evade our constraint. Such fields arise naturally in supergravity and string theory, a possible quantum theory of gravity. It may be that the observed homogeneity is steering us to consider these fields as promising inflaton candidates. In addition, if space has non-trivial topology , we may also recover an inflationary solution to the homogeneity problem. In this case, however, the length scale associated with cosmic topology should be comparable to the inflating horizon size.

Another escape from the result is possible if we include singularities other than the big bang in the spacetime. Here, however, the singularity must border the inflating patch of the universe. So, even if one did produce an inflationary patch, there would be no way of predicting events in this patch without first understanding the nature and influence of the singularity .

To summarize, the observed homogeneity problem cannot have an inflationary solution within conventional extrapolations of classical physics. If one wishes to find a solution, novel departures from classical physics must be considered. The quantum solution is beset with interpretational difficulties. Other classical solutions rely on violations of the weak energy condition or modifications of Einstein’s equations that would, in effect, provide a strongly repulsive gravitational event in the history of the universe.