Steady State Theory

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The steady state theory ( equilibrium theory ) was developed in the late 1940s by the astronomers Fred Hoyle , Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold as an alternative to the big bang theory and introduced to the scientific community in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1948 . In this theory , the universe is expanding , but the density of matter does not change because new matter is constantly being created homogeneously through the entire space.

In 2014 it became known that the basic idea was already to be found in a manuscript by Albert Einstein from 1931, which is in the possession of the University of Jerusalem, but had not yet been investigated in more detail.

Problems

Problems with steady state theory first appeared in the late 1960s when observations supported the hypothesis that galaxies change over cosmological time. Quasars and radio galaxies had only been found in distant galaxies. This contradicts the core idea of ​​the steady state theory that the universe looks the same at all times.

Most cosmologists consider the steady state theory to be refuted because of the discovery of background radiation in 1965, which was predicted by the big bang theory . Stephen Hawking said that the discovery of the microwave background and the assumption that it was linked to the Big Bang was the final nail in the coffin of the steady state theory. In steady state theory, the microwave background is the result of old star light scattered by clouds of dust . However, this theory did not convince most cosmologists because the microwave background is very uniform, which makes point sources unlikely. In addition, the microwave background shows no polarization , which is usually a result of light scattering. In addition, its spectrum is so close to that of an ideal black body that it can only have arisen with difficulty from the superimposition of the radiation of different dust clouds of different temperatures at different redshifts . Today's precision measurements of radiation, together with the results of sky surveys, confirm this.

Since that time, the Big Bang theory has been considered the best theory to describe the origin of the universe. In most astrophysical publications, the Big Bang theory is assumed as the origin of the universe and used as the basis for more complex theories.

New developments

In 1993, Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge and Jayant V. Narlikar tried to revive the theory. They put forward the thesis that the creation of new matter takes place in individual steps or jumps, which are referred to as "mini-bangs" or "mini emergence events". The mini-bangs could be so-called white holes , which are fed by wormholes from " black holes " that were created in another space-time. In such a cosmology model, a first cause cannot be ruled out, but it is not a must. The universe arises over and over again over time, which is also an explanation for the fact that in physical equations time has no direction. However, the new variant is also rejected by the majority of the scientific community.

literature

  • Billy Ligon Farmer: Universe Alternatives: Emerging Concepts of Size, Age, Structure, and Behavior. 2nd Edition. Gilliland Printing, 1995, ISBN 0-9649983-4-3 .
  • Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge, Jayant V. Narlikar: A Different Approach to Cosmology. Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-521-66223-0 .
  • Simon Mitton: Conflict in the Cosmos: Fred Hoyle's Life in Science. Joseph Henry Press, 2005, ISBN 0-309-09313-9 . (also: Fred Hoyle: a life in science. Aurum Press, 2005, ISBN 1-85410-961-8 .)
  • Steven Weinberg: Gravitation and Cosmology. Wiley, New York 1972, pp. 495-464.
  • Narlikar, Jayant; Burbidge, Geoffrey: Facts and Speculations in Cosmology, 2008, Cambridge University Press , ISBN 978-0-521-86504-3

Individual evidence

  1. ^ H. Bondi, T. Gold: The Steady-State Theory of the Expanding Universe. In: Monthly Notices, Royal Astronomical Society. vol. 108, 1948, pp. 252-270
    F. Hoyle: A New Model of the Expanding Universe. In: Monthly Notices, Royal Astronomical Society. vol. 108, 1948, pp. 372-382.
  2. ^ David Castelvecchi: Einstein's Lost Theory Uncovered. The famous physicist explored the idea of ​​a steady-state universe in 1931. In: Scientific American / Nature Magazine. Online edition February 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ Cormac O'Raifeartaigh, Brendan McCann, Werner Nahm, Simon Mitton: Einstein's steady-state theory: an abandoned model of the cosmos. arxiv : 1402.0132
  4. ^ F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, JV Narlikar: A quasi-steady state cosmological model with creation of matter. In: The Astrophysical Journal . 410, 1993, pp. 437-457.
    • F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, JV Narlikar: Astrophysical deductions from the quasi-steady state cosmology. In: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 267, 1994, pp. 1007-1019. bibcode : 1994MNRAS.267.1007H
      • F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, JV Narlikar: Astrophysical deductions from the quasi-steady state: Erratum. In: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 269, 08/1994, 1152. bibcode : 1994MNRAS.269.1152H
    • F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, JV Narlikar: Further astrophysical quantities expected in a quasi-steady state Universe. In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. Vol. 289, no. 3, pp. 729-739. bibcode : 1994A & A ... 289..729H
    • F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, J. Narlikar: The basic theory underlying the quasi-steady state cosmological model. In: Proc. R. Soc. A. 448, 191.
    • Edward L. Wright : Comments on the Quasi-Steady-State Cosmology . Astrophysics, October 20, 1994. arxiv : astro-ph / 9410070
      • F. Hoyle, G. Burbidge, JV Narlikar: Note on a Comment by Edward L. Wright . Astrophysics. December 14, 1994. arxiv : astro-ph / 9412045
  5. ^ Edward L. Wright: Errors in the Steady State and Quasi-SS Models. September 13, 2004.