Cosmology

Erman Kaplama explores the principle of transition (Übergang) from metaphysics to physics developed by Kant in his unfinished magnum opus, Opus Postumum. Drawing on the Heraclitean logos and Kant’s notions of sense-intuition (Anschauung) and reflective judgment, Kaplama interprets transition as an aesthetic principle. He revises the idea of nature (phusis) as the principle of motion referring to Heraclitus’ cosmology as well as Heidegger’s and Nietzsche’s lectures on the pre-Socratics. Kaplama compares the Kantian sublime and Nietzschean Dionysian as aesthetic theories representing the transition from the sensible to supersensible and as cosmological theories that consider human nature (ethos) as an extension of nature. In light of such Nietzschean notions as the eternal recurrence and will to power, the Dionysian is shown to trigger the transition by which nature and art are redefined. Finally, Cosmological Aesthetics employs the principles of transition and motion to analyze Van Gogh’s Starry Night in an excursus.

The general structure of the spherically symmetric solutions in the Weyl conformal gravity is described. The corresponding Bach equation are derived for the special type of metrics, which can be considered as the representative of the general class. The complete set of the pure vacuum solutions is found. It consists of two classes. The first one contains the solutions with constant two-dimensional curvature scalar of our specific metrics, and the representatives are the famous Robertson-Walker metrics. One of them we called the "gravitational bubbles", which is compact and with zero Weyl tensor. The second class is more general, with varying curvature scalar. We found its representative as the one-parameter family. It appears that it can be conformally covered by the thee-parameter Mannheim-Kazanas solution. We also investigated the general structure of the energy-momentum tensor in the spherical conformal gravity and constructed the vectorial equation that reveals clearly the same features of non-vacuum solutions. One of them, the metrics a la Vaidya, is explicitly written.

Current practice calls for a correction factor to be added to SNe 1a data to create a rest-frame. A test has now been developed that proves or disproves time dilation by removing this added correction factor from published data. If cosmic time dilation does exist, then removing the added correction factor will disturb expected physical correlations because the correction was needed; however, if cosmic time dilation doesn’t exist, then removing the added correction factor from the data will restore correlations because the correction was unneeded. The formula, , which removes the added time dilation correction factor from published data was developed and successfully tested on data from Blondin et al (2008), The first actual application of the formula was to remove the time dilation correction factor added to the supernova data used by Riess et al (1998) and Perlmutter et al (1999) in the landmark study establishing dark energy. When the added time dilation factor was removed from the SNe 1a data, the acceleration, which had been attributed to dark energy, was completely eliminated and the expected good correlation between redshift distance and effective MB from the supernovae was restored. This proves that the addition of the time dilation correction factor disturbed an expected correlation because the correction was not needed.  Although this is strong evidence against the existence of cosmic time dilation, more studies are needed to confirm this result.

In the framework of f(T) theories of gravity, we solve the field equations for f(T)=T+α Tn in the weak-field approximation and for spherical symmetry spacetime. Since f(T)=T corresponds to Teleparallel Gravity, which is equivalent to General Relativity, the non linearity of the Lagrangian are expected to produce perturbations of the general relativistic solutions, parameterized by α. Hence, we use the f(T) solutions to model the gravitational field of the Sun and exploit data from accurate radio-tracking of spacecrafts orbiting Mercury and Saturn to infer preliminary bounds on the model parameter α and on the cosmological constant Λ.

Hoyle and Narlikar (HN) in the 1960’s [1]-[3] developed a theory of gravitation which was completely
Machian and used both retarded and advanced waves to communicate gravitational influence
between particles. The advanced waves, which travel backward in time, are difficult to visualize
and although they are mathematically allowed by relativistic wave equations, they never really caught on. The HN theory reduced to Einstein’s theory of gravity in the smooth fluid approximation
and a transformation into the rest frame of the fluid. Hawking [4] in 1965 pointed out
a possible flaw in the theory. This involved integrating out into the distant future to account for all
the advanced waves which might influence the mass of a particle here and now. Hawking used infinity
as his upper time limit and showed the integral was divergent. We point out that since the
universe is known to be expanding, and accelerating, the upper limit in the advanced wave time
integral should not be infinite but is bounded by the Cosmic Event Horizon. This event horizon
e H represents a barrier between future events that can be observed and those which cannot. We
show that the advanced wave integral is finite when e H c, is used as the upper limit of the advanced
wave integral. Hawking’s objection is no longer valid and the HN theory becomes a working theory once again.

Het concept grafheuvel is ontstaan op basis van een aantal telkens terugkerende kenmerken. Niet iedere grafheuvel voldoet compleet aan deze kenmerken, maar ze zijn zo algemeen geldend dat er vanuit wordt gegaan dat het de norm moet zijn geweest. In het kort verwacht men bij een grafheuvel dat het: een aarden heuvel is die (in eerste instantie) is opgeworpen ter begraving van één persoon, welke al dan niet wordt begraven met bijgiften en waarvan de heuvel wordt ‘versierd’ of ‘afgebakend’ met een greppel, rij(en) palen of anderszins. Hoewel dit een goede basis is voor onderzoek, is het moeilijk hiermee inzicht te krijgen in de kosmologisch structurerende ideeën die hieraan ten grondslag liggen. Toch zijn er ook gevallen waarin er zich iets heeft afgespeeld dat anders is dan zou worden verwacht. Deze gevallen worden geïnterpreteerd als afwijking van de norm of afgedaan als een eigenaardig kenmerk, zonder bij te dragen aan een beter begrip van het geheel. Eigenlijk weten we niet zo goed hoe we afwijkingen, of beter gezegd: voor ons eigenaardige aspecten, moeten interpreteren en daarom verdwijnen ze meestal naar de marge van het onderzoek. Maar wat nu als we deze eigenaardigheden juist centraal plaatsen in ons onderzoek, wat zou ons dat voor inzicht kunnen bieden in de kosmologische ideeën die vooraf gingen aan het oprichten en uitbreiden van grafheuvels?

The website bighistoryapps.org presents an editorial project with the goal to spread a set of original Mobile Learning Smartphone apps. Each step, when walking with any of the apps, helps you to understand deep space and time, to experience with your body, mind and soul the story of Earth. Through walking you will internalize and feel your place in the universe.

Conjeturas relativas a los mundos planetarios, sus habitantes y producciones. Dedicadas al hermano del autor, Constantijn Huyhgens, Secretario de Su Majestad Británica Guillermo III, o cuando la ciencia se tiñe de poesía. Un tratado astronómico delicioso que a la postre resulta un profundo alegato al pensamiento y la reflexión, a la curiosidad más genuina del alma humana.