Cosmology Notes

Arnab Chowdhury
June 22, 2023

LATEX compiled by Fahim Rajit Hossain

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1 Preliminary Concepts
Note: All derivations not shown may or may not be trivial but are left as exercises to
the reader anyways.

The equations in cosmology are all derived from General Relativity. But the universe is
symmetric. It has translational symmetry (homogeneity), rotational symmetry (isotropy),
time symmetry and so on. If you are familiar with Noether’s theorem, you’ll know that
each symmetry leads to a conservation law,viz the conservation of linear momentum,
angular momentum, energy etc. The beauty of this symmetry is that we can now derive
the correct equations describing an expanding universe using Newtonian physics.

The math in cosmology begins with the Hubble–Lemaı̂tre Law. To understand Hubble’s
Law we must first understand redshift. In physics, redshift is a phenomenon where
electromagnetic radiation (light) from an object undergoes an increase in wavelength.
Neither the emitted nor perceived light is necessarily red; instead, the term refers to
the human perception of longer wavelengths as red which is at the section of the visible
spectrum with the longest wavelengths. There are three main causes of redshifts in
astronomy and cosmology:
1. Objects move apart (or closer together) in space. This is an example of the Doppler
Effect.

2. Space itself is expanding, causing objects to become separated without changing

their positions in space. This is known as cosmological redshift.

3. Gravitational redshift, observed due to strong gravitational fields, which distort

spacetime and exert a force on light.
For all galaxies we find a “redshift” z which is proportional to the distance D light has
traveled from the galaxy, i.e. z ∝ D. The constant of proportionality is related to the
Hubble constant H0 which we discuss in greater detail later on. If λ0 is the laboratory
wavelength measurement of a single absorption or emission line and λobs is the observed
wavelength of the redshifted line then ∆λ = λobs − λ0 is the difference between the two,
then redshift is defined as–
∆λ H0
z≡ = D [“Hubble law” for redshifts]
λ0 c
This is often incorrectly interpreted as a Doppler effect where1 ,
v ∆λ
z= =
c λ0
Nonetheless, this idea lends itself to the more familiar version of the Hubble law:

v = H0 D [“Hubble law” for velocities]

The Hubble constant is now known from 2018 Planck results to be 67.4 ± 0.5 kms−1 /Mpc
(assuming the base- ΛCDM cosmology).

1 v
Note: The relation z = c in cosmology can only be used for very small redshifts, z << 1.

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Problem: The observed redshift of a QSO is z = 0.20, estimate its distance.

It is an observed fact that wavelengths are redshifted. Historically, people were convinced
that this was evidence of a velocity-induced doppler effect. However, this immediately
leads to further questions about why the galaxies are moving away from each other.

Q 1.1
Does the Hubble law define a privileged observer, i.e. us?

Answer: No! Consider the view with respect to different observers. Note: Hubble’s law
is a vector law.

We observe: v = H0 r and vB = H0 rB

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Observer B: v 0 = v − vB = H0 (r − rB ) = H0 r0

This means that all observers see the same law!

Q 1.2
What is the proper interpretation of the Hubble law?

Answer: The old (wrong) idea was that galaxies are in flight with respect to fixed
(absolute) space. This resembles some kind of cosmic super-explosion, hence the name
Big Bang. Everything would fly away from a special location, but WHY should there be
such a special point in space?
The better (correct) idea is that space itself is expanding!

Q 1.3
But observation tells us some galaxies don’t obey Hubble’s law. Andromeda is even
moving toward us!

Answer: Hubble’s law is only observable for galaxies far enough away. And by that I
mean at least a few Megaparsecs, that’s what M pc−1 in the units mean. All galaxies have
some sort of random motion due to their interaction with other galaxies. This is called
peculiar motion/velocity. Peculiar velocity can be a few hundred km/s. So a galaxy has
to be pretty far away before Hubble’s velocity dominates.

Problem: Supposing that a typical galaxy peculiar velocity is 600 km/s, how far away
would a galaxy have to be before it could be used to determine the Hubble constant to
ten percent accuracy?

Q 1.4
So, space is expanding. Wouldn’t that mean space at a small scale, including intermolecular
space, is also expanding? Isn’t that just scaling the universe where literally everything
gets bigger and effectively nullifies the increasing distance between galaxies?

Answer: Well, space does expand at molecular levels, but that doesn’t mean that everything
will get bigger. No, it’s not because the expansion at molecular levels is negligible. It’s
because the intermolecular forces are really strong at this scale and they keep the actual
intermolecular distances fixed. Specifically, electromagnetic forces between atoms and
gravitational forces in our solar system or within galaxies completely nullify the effect
of the expansion. You’d need galaxies at huge distances for the expansion of space to
overcome that threshold and slowly move things apart.

Think of it like your entire neighborhood is stretching and the houses are getting further
apart, but your cat is tied to you by a leash and the distance between you and your
cat stays the same. That leash is the electromagnetic forces between particles or gravity
between solar systems, galaxies or local clusters. That’s why super far away galaxies keep
getting further away, but our sizes stay the same.

A better explanation is that our current model of the universe assumes a homogeneous
distribution of mass. Every result calculated has been based on that assumption. But

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that’s only true at large scales. At small scales, the universe is far from homogeneous
where all sorts of random motion dominate. Hence our model and calculated results do
not apply.

Q 1.5
How do we describe expanding space?

Answer: We introduce a scale factor a(t) which compares distances at different times.
Then physical distances r and comoving distances x are related through a as follows:
r = a(t) · x
Where,
a = cosmic scale factor
x = comoving coordinates
r = physical (or proper) coordinates
Take a balloon and draw a grid on it. The type of grid and how you draw it doesn’t
matter. Draw some galaxies on it too. When you blow up the balloon, you can note two
things. The grid spacing between the galaxies doesn’t change, these are the comoving
coordinates. You can view these coordinates as being carried along with the expansion.
The next is the physical distance between the galaxies (measured along the surface of
the balloon if you want to get technical) that increases with the expansion. This is the
physical distance that we are actually used to. The scale factor is literally just a scaling
factor to go from comoving to physical coordinates

x stays the same during expansion so the entire effect of the expanding space is encoded
in a(t). Furthermore, only r has physical meaning as comoving distances are not directly
observable.

The main difference between comoving distance and physical distance is that the comoving
coordinates are just imaginary coordinates that move along with spacetime, thus the name
comoving. While physical distances are actually according to the name physical distances
that don’t expand with spacetime. Thus objects moving along with space have a constant
comoving distance but face increasing physical distance.

For an expanding universe the scale factor is an increasing function with time, i.e. a(t1 ) <
a(t2 ), so we often normalize the scale factor. The parametrization is chosen such that the
present-day value of the scale factor is one:
a0 ≡ a(to ) ≡ 1
where, t0 ≡ today

Hence, the scale factor is just another way of measuring cosmic time.

1.1 Relation between scale factor and other quantities

Now we have a completely different (and correct) interpretation of the redshift - light
travels through expanding space - so the physical wavelength is changed according to
λ ∝ a.

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At emission: λem ∝ a(tem )

Observed today: λobs ∝ a(t0 )
Therefore, the redshift is,
∆λ λobs − λem λobs a0
z= = = −1= − 1,
λem λem λem a(tem )

providing the cosmological definition of redshift once we substitute a(tem ) → a(t) → a

and a0 → 1.
1
1+z =
a
Problem: Given that the cosmic background radiation has the spectrum of a black body
throughout the evolution of the Universe, determine how its temperature changes with
redshift z. In particular, give the temperature of the background radiation when z ≈ 10.
The current temperature of the cosmic background radiation is 2.73 K.

Hint: Use the relation between λ & T.

1.2 Definition of the Hubble Parameter

The term Hubble constant is a bit misleading. Although certainly it is constant in space,
it is not constant in time. We now generalize this, the idea is to describe expansion with
a Hubble law that is valid for all times, not just today. Formally, the Hubble relation is
v = H(t)r but velocity is fundamentally defined by v = ṙ = dtd a(t) x = ȧx so we obtain,
ȧ
H(t) ≡ (Hubble parameter)
a
and
a˙0
H0 ≡ H(t0 ) ≡ (Hubble constant)
a0
It is best to use the phrase ‘Hubble parameter’ for the quantity H, using it in its compact
notation, as a function of time; reserving ‘Hubble constant’, H0 for its present value.

Problem: What are the dimensions of the Hubble parameter? One can define a characteristic
timescale for the expansion of the Universe (i.e. Hubble time tH ) using the Hubble
parameter. Calculate the present-day Hubble time tH0 .

Answer: The dimensions of Hubble parameter is just [T −1 ]. We can estimate the time
elapsed since the Big Bang by the following simple argument. If we assume a constant
expansion rate, so that H(t) = H0 for all t, then it follows that,

tH = H0−1

Therefore, if H0 = 73.8 ± 2.4 km s−1 /Mpc the Hubble time tH and Hubble radius RH , a
characteristic scale for the size of the universe, are roughly

tH ≈ 10 Gyr and RH ≈ c tH ≈ 1028 cm = a few Gpc

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2 The cosmic equation of motion

The dynamics of the universe can be mapped into the motion of a point particle. We
can use that to derive a cosmic equation of motion a.k.a the Friedmann equation that
describes the expansion of the universe. We’ll try to derive a simplified form of it using
only Newtonian mechanics.

Problem: Consider a sphere of radius R and uniform matter density ρ. Find an equation
of motion, in terms of a , ρ and other constants, using the laws of Energy conservation.

Answer: We assume the universe to be an expanding fluid and we look at a particle in

the universe and see its Kinetic Energy,
1 2 1 2
mv = mȧ
2 2
The particle also has Potential Energy, which can be modeled similar to the energy due
to a spherical body,
GM m
−
a
The total energy will be equal to some constant, which itself will be proportional to m,
1 2 GM m
mȧ − = k0m
2 a
1 2 G · 4πa3 ρ
ȧ − = k0
2 3a
Rearranging we obtain our ‘simplified Friedmann equation’.
 2
ȧ 8πGρ k
= − 2
a 3 a

Note: The k in the equation represents the geometric curvature of the universe. The
state of cosmology for most of the 20th century was one where the value of k was quite
uncertain. Fortunately, the theorist’s perfect model of a universe with k = 0 turns out
to correspond to ours. This is what we call a flat universe.

I won’t go into the details on the curvature, but here’s a table that summarizes the
consequences of the three possible values of k.

Curvature Geometry Angle of triangle Circumference of circle Type of Universe

k>0 Spherical > 180◦ c < 2πr Closed
k=0 Flat 180◦ c = 2πr Flat
k<0 Hyperbolic < 180◦ c > 2πr Open

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2.1 Baryonic Matter

By baryonic matter, we mean normal non-relativistic matter made of baryons. Suppose
ρ(t) is the matter density of the universe at any time t and ρ0 is that density today. We
can find a relation between ρ(t), ρ0 and a. Consider a cubical region of the expanding
space. Conservation of mass dictates that the mass M within a given comoving volume
is constant in time. Comparing the mass at two different times (t and t0 ),

M (t) = a3 x3 ρ(t) & M (t0 ) = a30 x3 ρ(t0 ) = x3 ρ0 ,

provides the evolution of the cosmic matter density
ρ(t) = ρ0 a−3 = ρ0 (1 + z)3
Note: This is only valid for normal (ordinary) non relativistic matter. We do not expect
this to hold for radiation, dark energy, etc. Furthermore, the density is infinite at the
Big Bang, i.e. in the limit as z → ∞.

Problem: Assuming that the present density of baryonic matter is ρm = 4.17×10−28 kg/m3
what was the density of baryonic matter at the time of the Big Bang nucleosynthesis
(when T ∼ 1010 K)? Assume present temperature to be T0 = 2.73 K.

2.2 Radiation
Radiation is a confusing term in cosmology as it refers to all relativistic materials. This
includes both photons and the almost massless neutrinos. In case of radiation, a useful
term is number density, n, which is simply the number of particles in a given volume.
If the mean energy of particle (including mass-energy) is E, then the number density is
related to the radiation density by
ρrad c2 = n × E
In a thermodynamic equilibrium, like the current state of the universe, the total number
of particles must remain constant. Another point to note is that photons lose their energy
as the universe expands and their wavelength is stretched, so their energy is Erad ∝ 1/a.

Problem: How does Radiation density ρrad relate to the scale factor?

Answer: Since the number of particles remain constant, the only thing changing the
number density is the expansion of the universe, nrad ∝ a13 ,
1 1 1
ρrad ∝ nrad × Erad ∝ × ∝
a3 a a4

2.3 Dark Matter

Dark matter is basically matter we can’t see because it does not interact except gravitationally.
Most of the matter we can see in this universe is basically stars, but there’s a huge chunk
of matter we can’t see. They’re not just planets or space rocks cause they’re not massive
enough and there’s not much of them. We don’t know what they are but we do know
that they are matter, they kinda behave like matter and most importantly, they evolve
like matter.

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2.4 Dark Energy

Dark energy is the energy of empty space. Unlike matter and radiation, dark energy does
not evolve i.e. its density remains constant throughout the expansion of the universe. A
proposed form of the Dark Energy is the cosmological constant Λ, which is the energy of
space or vacuum energy.

2.5 Combining the Components

The complete Friedmann Equation is usually written as follows:
 2
ȧ 8πG Λ k
= (ρm + ρr ) + − 2
a 3 3 a

Problem: The average temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is

currently T = 2.73 K. It yields the origin of CMB to be at redshift zCM B = 1100. The
current densities of the Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Normal Matter components of
the Universe as a whole are, ρDE = 7.1 × 10−30 g/cm3 , ρDM = 2.4 × 10−30 g/cm3 and
ρNM = 0.5 × 10−30 g/cm3 , respectively.
What is the ratio between the density of Dark Matter to the density of Dark Energy at
the time CMB was emitted?

Problem: Let us define the critical density ρc as the matter density required to explain
the expansion of a flat universe without any radiation or dark energy. Find an expression
of the critical density, in terms H and G. Calculate the present critical density ρc0 .

Answer: From Friedmann Equation, the critical density is defined in the way of
 2
ȧ 8πG
= ρc
a 3
thus,
3H 2
ρc =
8πG
The modern day value of the critical density is thus 1.06 × 10−26 kg/m3 .

Problem: Assume the mass of neutrinos is mν = 10−5 me . Calculate the number density
of neutrinos needed to compensate for the dark matter of the universe. Assume the
universe is flat and 25% of its mass is dark matter.

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3 Einstein de-Sitter Universe

The Einstein de-Sitter Universe is one where the geometric curvature and the cosmological
constant are set to zero, leaving only a flat matter dominated universe. Density becomes
the critical density. Thus the e.o.m becomes
 2
ȧ
= H02 a−3
a
We make an educated guess and relate the age of an EdS universe to the scale factor
using the power law:

H02 −3α 2 3
a(t) = A tα ⇒ α2 2t−2 = 3
t ⇒ α = A = [ H0 ]2/3
A 3 2
Remember that here t is the time since the Big-Bang. This leads to the solution for an
EdS universe:
3
a(t) = [ H0 ]2/3 t2/3
2
or simply,
a(t) ∝ t2/3
Problem: Calculate the present age of an EdS universe.
2
Answer: In this model the exact age of the universe is tH,EdS = ∼ 9 Gyr
3H0
which is younger than the age of the oldest globular clusters (11.2 billion years). Hence, we
cannot live in an EdS universe without suffering from a ‘cosmic age crisis’. However, this
model is still useful to make assumptions about the matter dominated era. Furthermore,
because when we view distance regions of the universe we are viewing them as they were
in the past it turns out that all the parts of the universe we can see beyond a redshift of
about z=2 are still well described by an Einstein de Sitter model.

It is useful to remember that the age of the universe according to current models is
1.38 × 1010 years (as of 2015).

Note: Mathematically the power rule is, Y = AX α where Y and X are two related
variables.

Problem: Based on the spectrum of a galaxy with redshift z = 6.03 it was determined
that the age of the stars in the galaxy is from 560 to 600 million years. At what z did
the epoch of star formation occur in this galaxy?

Assume that the rate of expansion of the Universe is given by a flat cosmological model.
(In such a model the scale factor a ∝ t2/3 )

Problem: Compute how long it will take for the universe to cool down by 0.1K. Assume
a flat universe and the current temperature of the universe is 2.73 K.

Problem: Find such a relation between the scale factor and the age of the universe for a
radiation dominated universe.

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4 Density Parameter
It is often useful to express densities as a fraction of the critical density. As a refresher,
critical density is the average density of matter required for a universe, with zero curvature
and zero dark energy, to just halt its expansion, but only after an infinite time. Thus we
define the density parameter as,
ρ0
Ω≡
ρe0
Problem: The complete Friedmann Equation is usually written as follows:
 2
ȧ 8πG Λc2 kc2
= (ρm + ρr ) + − 2
a 3 3 a
The Friedmann Equation can be rewritten using the dimensionless density parameters
simply as, Ωm + Ωr + ΩΛ + Ωk = 1

Use this information to find expressions for ΩΛ and Ωk , in terms of H, c, Λ, k, a.

E.A.: Find an expression for Ωm & Ωr as well.

Note: Throughout this text I have dropped the ‘c’ in the Friedmann equations as we
consider c = 1, which is indeed widely used in practice. But this specific problem has
been taken from IOAA-18, so I maintained the originality.

Answer: This problem is purely mathematical.

 2
8πG Λc2 kc2 ȧ
(ρm + ρr ) + − 2 =
3 3 a a
2
8πG 8πG Λc kc2
ρm + ρr + − 2 = H2
3 3 3 a
8πG 8πG Λc2 kc2
ρm + ρr + − =1 (1)
3H 2 3H 2 3H 2 a2 H 2
Ωm + Ωr + ΩΛ + Ωk =1 (2)

Comparing 1 and 2,

8πG
Ωm = ρm
3H 2
8πG
Ωr = ρr
3H 2
Λc2
ΩΛ =
3H 2
kc2
Ωk = − 2 2
aH

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5 The Early Universe

The scale factor of the universe depends on the matter and energy density in a way
that depends on which component is dominant. That is, which component has a higher
density. The other components can be considered negligible for now. A transition in the
dominance from one component to another will cause a transition of how the scale factor
evolves. Now to find the epoch(z) of this transition. While doing this we will assume
the transition is fairly instantaneous compared to the timescale of the universe. At the
moment of transition, the densities of the components in consideration will be equal.

During the matter-radiation equality,

Ωr = Ωm
Ωr0 (1 + z)4 = Ωm0 (1 + z)3
Ωm0
z= −1
Ωr0
At the matter-dark energy equality,

ΩΛ = Ωm
ΩΛ0 = Ωm0 (1 + z)3
 1/3
ΩΛ0
z= −1
Ωm0
We use the following values of the density parameters to find the epochs

Ωr0 = 9.1 × 10−5 ; Ωm0 = 0.31; ΩΛ0 = 0.69

Thus at matter-radiation equality, z ≈ 3400,

At matter-dark energy equality, z ≈ 0.3.

Note: These values were taken from the 4th SAO2 , I’ll update them once I get values
from a better source. Also inform me if you find any better source.
Values of the parameters will be generally given to you in the problems or in the constants
table and you are required to follow that. Nonetheless, the facts that

Ωm + Ωr + ΩΛ + Ωk = 1 and Ωr , Ωk << 1
thus,
Ωm + Ω Λ = 1
will always hold.

Problem: Estimate the age of the Universe at the radiation-matter equality, given that
the matter-dark energy equality occurred 4.05 billion years ago.

1/2
q matter- and dark-energy-dominated Universe, a(t) ∝ t , a(t) ∝
Hint: In a radiation-,
t2/3 and a(t) ∝ exp(t Λ3 ) respectively.

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Problem: Show that at the time of radiation-dark energy equality, the evolution of the
scale factor didn’t change.

5.1 Radiation Density

Remember that radiation is a combination of photons and neutrinos. So we’ll use the
subscripts - r for radiation, γ for photons, ν for neutrinos.

We all understand radiation energy density, it’s intuitive. But radiation density can be
puzzling. And that is probably because we see mass as an intrinsic property. But in fact
mass arises when energy is confined in some volume. Thus mass is not a fundamental
property, it’s an emergent property. Think of yourself, almost all of your mass comes
from protons and neutrons, 99% of which are made of massless gluons. You have mass
just because they are confined in a very small space.

So what’s radiation density? It’s the mass that emerges when you confine radiation
energy in a unit volume.

The relation between radiation density ρr , and radiation energy density r , is straightforward–

r = ρr c2
The calculation of neutrino density in the universe is difficult. So instead, we’ll only
calculate the photon radiation density and use the information ρν = 0.68ργ to find the
neutrino radiation density.

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By integrating Planck’s law and from the Stefan-Boltzmann law, we get the following
relation,
Photon radiation energy density of black body,

π2 4 4σT 4
γ = (kB T ) =
15~2 c2 c
where, σ is is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.

So the photon radiation density parameter,

ργ γ 1 4σT 4
Ωγ = = =
ρc ρ c c2 ρc c2 c
We plug in the current value of the critical density as 1.06×10−26 kg/m3 . And the remnant
of the radiation density is in fact the CMB, and its current temperature is T = 2.73 K.

Ωγ,0 = 1.98 × 10−5 ; Ων,0 = 1.34 × 10−5 ; Ωr,0 = 3.32 × 10−5 .

Problem: With the expansion of the Universe, radiation density dropped more quickly
than matter density, and at some epoch the matter density was equal to the radiation
density. Estimate the redshift of matter-radiation equality zeq in terms of Ωm0 and Hubble
parameter H0 . You may use the current temperature of the CMB: T = 2.73 K.

5.2 Matter Density [under construction]

1 galaxy/(Mpc)3

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6 Temperature unit conversion

At times you will see characteristic temperatures expressed in eV rather than K. This
serves two purposes - one is that it allows easier comparison of very high temperatures.
The other is that we can use this to compare formation energies of various particles.

eV is basically the unit of energy where 1 eV = 1.6 × 1019 J. kB T is a characteristic

energy of a distribution of photons. Not to be confused with hf , which is the energy of
a single photon. Also not to be confused with 1/2kB T , which is the energy per degree of
freedom of gas particles.

To go from energy units to temperature units, convert eV to Joules and divide that by
kB .

If we look at the energy density distribution of a black-body spectrum, we will see that
the total energy in the radiation is dominated by photons with energies of order kB T .
Indeed, the mean energy of a photon in this distribution is 3 kB T .

Problem: The neutrinos decoupled from the primordial soup when the temperature of the
universe was around 1 MeV. At this time, the radiation density in the universe was much
1
more than all other components. Estimate the time (t = 2H ) when neutrinos decoupled,
and express it in seconds since the big bang.

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7 Fluid Equation
We’ve seen how the densities evolve with the scale factor. Now we’ll be deriving an
equation to formulate these in a more formal manner. We start with the first law of
thermodynamics.

dE = dQ − pdV
Now there are two assumptions. First, we can consider that the universe is expanding
adiabatically. Or we could assume reversible expansion and thus dS = 0. Both of these
conclude to dQ = 0.

Second, we consider the galaxies to have negligible potential energy because they are
really far away from each other and they have negligible kinetic energy because their
velocities with respect to the comoving distances are much less than the speed of light.
So the only type of internal energy they have is due to E = mc2 .

Applying this to a unit comoving radius,

4π 3 2
E= a ρc
3
The change of energy in a time dt,
dE 4π 3 2
= 4πa2 ρc2 ȧ + a ρ̇c
dt 3
While the change in volume is,
dV
= 4πa2 ȧ
dt
Putting these into the first law and rearranging gives,

ȧ p
ρ̇ + 3 (ρ + 2 ) = 0
a c

which is called the fluid equation in cosmology.

7.1 Pressure
It is stressed that there are no pressure forces in a homogeneous universe, because density
and pressure are the same everywhere. A pressure gradient is required to supply a force.
Instead of thinking of pressure as a force per unit area (P = F/A), it is better to think
of it as an energy per unit volume i.e. P = E/V . So pressure does not contribute a force
helping the expansion along; its effect is through the work done as the universe expands.

It is a usual assumption in cosmology that there is a unique pressure associated with each
component of density. That is, the fluid equation applies to matter, radiation and dark
energy separately; and there is a unique relation between pressure and density for each
component such that p is a function of ρ. This relation is called the equation of state.

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Problem: The Fluid Equation ρ + 3 ȧa (ρ + cp2 ) = 0 is valid for matter, radiation and dark
energy. Radiation contains photons and massless neutrinos, and they both travel at more
or less the speed of light. The pressure exerted by these particles is 1/3 of their energy
density. Show that the density of radiation ρr ∝ (1 + z)4 You may note that if ρ̇ρ = n ȧa
then ρ ∝ an .

E.A.: Show that for matter, ρm ∝ (1 + z)3 if matter applies no pressure.

Answer:

Energy, E = mc2
Energy density, U = ρc2
ρ r c2
Radiation pressure, p =
3
Plugging this in the fluid equation we get,
ρ̇ ȧ
= −4
ρ a

Thus, ρr ∝ a−4 ⇒ ρr ∝ (1 + z)4 ,

For matter putting p = 0 one can similarly show that,

ρ̇ ȧ
= −3
ρ a

Thus, ρm ∝ a−3 ⇒ ρm ∝ (1 + z)3 ,

Problem: We know that the value of the cosmological constant Λ doesn’t evolve. Its
equation of state has a form p = wρΛ c2 , where w is an integer. Find the value of w.

Problem: We examined solutions for the expansion when the Universe contained either
matter (p = 0) or radiation (p = ρc2 /3). Suppose we have a more general equation of
state, p = (γ − 1) ρc2 , where γ is a constant in the range 0 < γ < 2. Find solutions
for ρ(a), a(t) and hence ρ(t) for universes containing such matter. Assume k = 0 in the
Friedmann equation.

Component EoS Coefficient w Time Sth

Radiation 1/3 t1/2 sth
Matter 0 t2/3
q sth
Λ
Dark Energy -1 exp(t 3
) sth

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Cosmology for IOAA/IPhO

8 Acceleration Equation [optional][under construction]

The acceleration equation can be derived from the first Friedmann Equation and the
Fluid Equation
 2
ȧ 8πG Λ k
= (ρm + ρr ) + − 2
a 3 3 a
ȧ p
ρ̇ + 3 (ρ + 2 ) = 0
a c

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Cosmology for IOAA/IPhO

9 Sources
1. An Introduction to Modern Cosmology by Andrew Liddle

2. Lecture Notes by Prof. Volker Bromm

3. Wikipedia

4. IOAA Problems

5. SAO Problems

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