Why is there too much structure in the Universe?
It is currently assumed that "the [accelerated] expansion of the universe" and "effect of gravity" are separate and opposing, rather than equivalent or identical, possibly resulting in the following unsolved problem in physics (coincident with that of dark matter and dark energy):
The Problem. "The?largest structures?in the universe are larger than expected. Current cosmological models say there should be very little structure on scales larger than a few hundred million light-years across, due to the expansion of the universe trumping the effect of gravity.[23]?But the?Sloan Great Wall?is 1.38?billion?light-years?in length. And the largest structure currently known, the?Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, is up to 10 billion light-years in length. Are these actual structures or random density fluctuations? If they are real structures, they contradict the 'End of Greatness' hypothesis which asserts that at a scale of 300?million light-years, structures seen in smaller surveys are randomized to the extent that the smooth distribution of the universe is visually apparent." [1]
Conventional assumption. The way paradigms persist it's as if Newton invented gravity, rather, without explanation, he found a means to concisely record the phenomenon of masses tending to move toward each other in relation to their magnitude and distance apart. From his point of view some four centuries ago, everything seemed to be attracted to everything else, out to the planets of the Solar system. Not beyond.
With better astronomical tools at present, it is evident that everything is not attracted to everything else. Actually everything is accelerating away from everything else at scales that dwarf that at which attraction is apparent.
Primal energy. It is commonly assumed gravity is nominal in relation to the standard model of particle physics, so that gravity must conform to quantum theory in terms of hypothetical gravitons. There is little thought of the other three forces and particles conforming to gravity, even though everything exists in space/gravity. No space/gravity, no primal energy, no standard model [2]. Also, it was quantitatively demonstrated that all forces and stable particles could stem from gravity in concert with special relativity. There does not appear to be a comparable approach beginning from quanta regarding a physical energy source for something like the Big Bang.
Gravity error trend. If these themes are familiar, most fundamental problems in physics are interrelated. And there is nothing more central than the roots of gravity. Here it is again in relation to the problem of large-scale structure; the structure is too large in an entrenched paradigm that assumes gravity is universally attractive, in the tradition of the original four century old publication for non-locality phenomena. Why should observations to the Solar system scale be assumed universal to this day? The breakdown begins at the limit of the Solar system scale with regard to general relativity, becomes obvious at the galaxy scale without the unfounded assumption of particulate dark matter, worse at the cluster of galaxies scale, then reverses at higher scales without the unfounded assumption of dark energy.
Cosmological principle problems. A figure of 300 million light years was mentioned in the above italicized problem statement where structure should hypothetically end according to convention, and the Universe appear uniform at scales higher than this. But this figure only represents that of typical galactic superclusters, discounting:
领英推荐
"9.2 Voids In maps of the large scale structure of galaxies, voids stand out starkly to the eye. There appear to be vast regions of space with few, if any, L* galaxies. Voids are among the largest structures observed in the Universe, spanning typically tens of h^?1 Mpc" [3]
while galactic superclusters typically span only 1-3 h^-1 Mpc (100-300 million light years). Structure continues from our own intricately patterned laniakea supercluster (containing our local supercluster) of 520?million?light years extent, to the Great Sloane Wall of 1.38 billion light years, the Giant Arc of 3.3 billion light years, then to said Wall of 10 billion light years extent, most of the extent of the visible universe. It would seem structure is proportional to survey depth and angle, so that theory might require even closer examination, with particular regard for the fundamental nature, and centrality, of gravity from the largest to the smallest scales.
Maintaining the cosmological principle. The above would seem to contradict an earlier Letter on maintaining the cosmological principle [4]. To the contrary, Newtonian gravity there was adapted (without altering the mathematical form) to accelerated expanding space. This (repulsive) adaptation was shown to be equivalent to the classical (attractive) interpretation at the elementary particle scale, with the benefit of a semblance of the cosmological constant implied at the accelerated expansion scale. This adaptation also offered a scale-invariant* quantitative explanation for dark matter and dark energy, as discussed. As long as structure can be explained, regardless of scale, "uniformity" and the cosmological principle might be maintained; it is just that the physical pattern of visible matter could be different at different scales, yet normal for that scale. It is only necessary for the theory to be scale-invariant. Deep astronomical surveys can be quite narrow and not discern such patterns without extensive sampling from all directions. Since the Universe is estimated to be considerably larger than the visible portion, most such patterns would be out of visible confirmation, but with sufficient data it might be possible to confirm a suitable theory, from which any unreachable patterns might be predicted with some confidence.
___________
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_physics
[3] Large Scale Structure of the Universe Alison L. Coil University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA 92093 [email protected] June 21, 2012? https://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.6633.pdf
* Scale-invariance refers to a theory applicable to various scales without need of modification for each scale considered.