Why did dark energy play a subdominant role in the radiation and matter dominated era?Is Dark Energy...

Unexpected behavior after assignment of function object to function wrapper

Resources to learn about firearms?

Necessity of tenure for lifetime academic research

'Horseshoes' for Deer?

My colleague treats me like he's my boss, yet we're on the same level

Was it illegal to blaspheme God in Antioch in 360.-410.?

Can UV radiation be safe for the skin?

Why is there no Disney logo in MCU movies?

IList<T> implementation

What am I looking at here at Google Sky?

Rapid change in character

Who declared the Last Alliance to be the "last" and why?

Could a complex system of reaction wheels be used to propel a spacecraft?

Eliminate key lookup in execution plan

Padding a column of lists

What is the practical impact of using System.Random which is not cryptographically random?

Cheap oscilloscope showing 16 MHz square wave

Welche normative Autorität hat der Duden? / What's the normative authority of the Duden?

How to understand payment due date for credit card?

Which is the correct version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition?

Is revealing a PC account user name bad?

Why does Sauron not permit his followers to use his name?

Journal published a paper, ignoring my objections as a referee

Why are JWST optics not enclosed like HST?



Why did dark energy play a subdominant role in the radiation and matter dominated era?


Is Dark Energy converted to Gravitational Potential Energy?Dark energy before radiation or after?What are the alternative theories of dark energy? ($w neq -1$)Source of Dark Energy.$z$ (redshift) at the inflation start up time?Why do we interpret the accelerated expansion of the universe as the proof for the existence of dark energy?What would happen to de Sitter universe if the cosmological constant disappears?What's the definition of repulsive gravity?When did the radiation domination end and matter domination start?






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}







1












$begingroup$


After inflation, the Universe passed through radiation dominated (RD) and matter dominated (MD) era during both of which the evolution of the scale factor (or the Hubble parameter) was decreasing with time as $Hsim t^{-1}$. These were phases of cosmic deceleration. However, the present Universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. Whatever agent causes this expansion is termed as dark energy. It may be constant, or perhaps, it has been evolving with time.



If we assume that dark energy was always in the form of a constant energy density which doesn't dilute with expansion- a cosmological constant, why didn't it play a dominant role in the RD and MD era?










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$














  • $begingroup$
    The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    11 hours ago


















1












$begingroup$


After inflation, the Universe passed through radiation dominated (RD) and matter dominated (MD) era during both of which the evolution of the scale factor (or the Hubble parameter) was decreasing with time as $Hsim t^{-1}$. These were phases of cosmic deceleration. However, the present Universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. Whatever agent causes this expansion is termed as dark energy. It may be constant, or perhaps, it has been evolving with time.



If we assume that dark energy was always in the form of a constant energy density which doesn't dilute with expansion- a cosmological constant, why didn't it play a dominant role in the RD and MD era?










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$














  • $begingroup$
    The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    11 hours ago














1












1








1





$begingroup$


After inflation, the Universe passed through radiation dominated (RD) and matter dominated (MD) era during both of which the evolution of the scale factor (or the Hubble parameter) was decreasing with time as $Hsim t^{-1}$. These were phases of cosmic deceleration. However, the present Universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. Whatever agent causes this expansion is termed as dark energy. It may be constant, or perhaps, it has been evolving with time.



If we assume that dark energy was always in the form of a constant energy density which doesn't dilute with expansion- a cosmological constant, why didn't it play a dominant role in the RD and MD era?










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$




After inflation, the Universe passed through radiation dominated (RD) and matter dominated (MD) era during both of which the evolution of the scale factor (or the Hubble parameter) was decreasing with time as $Hsim t^{-1}$. These were phases of cosmic deceleration. However, the present Universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. Whatever agent causes this expansion is termed as dark energy. It may be constant, or perhaps, it has been evolving with time.



If we assume that dark energy was always in the form of a constant energy density which doesn't dilute with expansion- a cosmological constant, why didn't it play a dominant role in the RD and MD era?







cosmology space-expansion dark-energy cosmological-constant






share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question











share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question










asked 12 hours ago









SRSSRS

6,7164 gold badges37 silver badges143 bronze badges




6,7164 gold badges37 silver badges143 bronze badges















  • $begingroup$
    The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    11 hours ago


















  • $begingroup$
    The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    11 hours ago
















$begingroup$
The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
$endgroup$
– pela
11 hours ago




$begingroup$
The way you've phrased you question, it's a matter of definition. Dark energy played a subdominant role, because the era was dominated by other things. I get what you mean, of course :)
$endgroup$
– pela
11 hours ago










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















4













$begingroup$

Because the Universe was much smaller at that time. Both matter and radiation is diluted as the volume it occupies expands, but the dark energy (DE) density is constant.



The density of matter decrease with increasing volume $V propto a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor, or the "size", of the Universe. Radiation is also redshifted, and the redshift is linearly proportional to the expansion, so there's an extra factor of $a$; hence its energy density decreases as $a^4$.



But dark energy (DE) is a property of space itself and has a constant energy density. That means that when you increase the volume, the density of matter and radiation decreases, while the density of DE stays the same. Hence, at some point it will start to dominate.



You can calculate backwards and find that matter and DE contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 10 billion years old; before that, matter dominated. You can then go on and find that matter and radiation contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 50,000 yr old; before that, you have the radiation-dominated epoch.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
    $endgroup$
    – SRS
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    10 hours ago














Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "151"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});














draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f499473%2fwhy-did-dark-energy-play-a-subdominant-role-in-the-radiation-and-matter-dominate%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









4













$begingroup$

Because the Universe was much smaller at that time. Both matter and radiation is diluted as the volume it occupies expands, but the dark energy (DE) density is constant.



The density of matter decrease with increasing volume $V propto a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor, or the "size", of the Universe. Radiation is also redshifted, and the redshift is linearly proportional to the expansion, so there's an extra factor of $a$; hence its energy density decreases as $a^4$.



But dark energy (DE) is a property of space itself and has a constant energy density. That means that when you increase the volume, the density of matter and radiation decreases, while the density of DE stays the same. Hence, at some point it will start to dominate.



You can calculate backwards and find that matter and DE contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 10 billion years old; before that, matter dominated. You can then go on and find that matter and radiation contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 50,000 yr old; before that, you have the radiation-dominated epoch.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
    $endgroup$
    – SRS
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    10 hours ago
















4













$begingroup$

Because the Universe was much smaller at that time. Both matter and radiation is diluted as the volume it occupies expands, but the dark energy (DE) density is constant.



The density of matter decrease with increasing volume $V propto a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor, or the "size", of the Universe. Radiation is also redshifted, and the redshift is linearly proportional to the expansion, so there's an extra factor of $a$; hence its energy density decreases as $a^4$.



But dark energy (DE) is a property of space itself and has a constant energy density. That means that when you increase the volume, the density of matter and radiation decreases, while the density of DE stays the same. Hence, at some point it will start to dominate.



You can calculate backwards and find that matter and DE contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 10 billion years old; before that, matter dominated. You can then go on and find that matter and radiation contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 50,000 yr old; before that, you have the radiation-dominated epoch.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$















  • $begingroup$
    Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
    $endgroup$
    – SRS
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    10 hours ago














4














4










4







$begingroup$

Because the Universe was much smaller at that time. Both matter and radiation is diluted as the volume it occupies expands, but the dark energy (DE) density is constant.



The density of matter decrease with increasing volume $V propto a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor, or the "size", of the Universe. Radiation is also redshifted, and the redshift is linearly proportional to the expansion, so there's an extra factor of $a$; hence its energy density decreases as $a^4$.



But dark energy (DE) is a property of space itself and has a constant energy density. That means that when you increase the volume, the density of matter and radiation decreases, while the density of DE stays the same. Hence, at some point it will start to dominate.



You can calculate backwards and find that matter and DE contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 10 billion years old; before that, matter dominated. You can then go on and find that matter and radiation contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 50,000 yr old; before that, you have the radiation-dominated epoch.






share|cite|improve this answer









$endgroup$



Because the Universe was much smaller at that time. Both matter and radiation is diluted as the volume it occupies expands, but the dark energy (DE) density is constant.



The density of matter decrease with increasing volume $V propto a^3$, where $a$ is the scale factor, or the "size", of the Universe. Radiation is also redshifted, and the redshift is linearly proportional to the expansion, so there's an extra factor of $a$; hence its energy density decreases as $a^4$.



But dark energy (DE) is a property of space itself and has a constant energy density. That means that when you increase the volume, the density of matter and radiation decreases, while the density of DE stays the same. Hence, at some point it will start to dominate.



You can calculate backwards and find that matter and DE contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 10 billion years old; before that, matter dominated. You can then go on and find that matter and radiation contributed equally when the Universe was roughly 50,000 yr old; before that, you have the radiation-dominated epoch.







share|cite|improve this answer












share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer










answered 11 hours ago









pelapela

8,98123 silver badges38 bronze badges




8,98123 silver badges38 bronze badges















  • $begingroup$
    Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
    $endgroup$
    – SRS
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    10 hours ago


















  • $begingroup$
    Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
    $endgroup$
    – SRS
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
    $endgroup$
    – pela
    10 hours ago
















$begingroup$
Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
$endgroup$
– SRS
11 hours ago




$begingroup$
Aha! So it is better to say that dark energy dominates the present Universe because radiation and matter have become subdominant in the present Universe. @pela
$endgroup$
– SRS
11 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
@SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
$endgroup$
– pela
10 hours ago




$begingroup$
@SRS Yes, you could say that. A cubic meter od space today, and a cubic meter shortly after the Big Bang contains the same amount of DE, but the latter just contain much more matter and radiation.
$endgroup$
– pela
10 hours ago


















draft saved

draft discarded




















































Thanks for contributing an answer to Physics Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f499473%2fwhy-did-dark-energy-play-a-subdominant-role-in-the-radiation-and-matter-dominate%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Taj Mahal Inhaltsverzeichnis Aufbau | Geschichte | 350-Jahr-Feier | Heutige Bedeutung | Siehe auch |...

Baia Sprie Cuprins Etimologie | Istorie | Demografie | Politică și administrație | Arii naturale...

Nicolae Petrescu-Găină Cuprins Biografie | Opera | In memoriam | Varia | Controverse, incertitudini...