Geodesic-light-cone coordinates and the Bianchi I spacetime [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1602.04461


The geodesic-light-cone (GLC) coordinates are a useful tool to analyse light propagation and observations in cosmological models. In this article, we propose a detailed, pedagogical, and rigorous introduction to this coordinate system, explore its gauge degrees of freedom, and emphasize its interest when geometric optics is at stake. We then apply the GLC formalism to the homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi I cosmology. More than a simple illustration, this application (i) allows us to show that the Weinberg conjecture according to which gravitational lensing does not affect the proper area of constant-redshift surfaces is significantly violated in a globally anisotropic universe; and (ii) offers a glimpse into new ways to constrain cosmic isotropy from the Hubble diagram.

Read this paper on arXiv…

P. Fleury, F. Nugier and G. Fanizza
Tue, 16 Feb 16
58/71

Comments: 25 pages, 5 figures