Effect of inhomogeneity on cosmological models

Abstract

In the application of relativistic mechanics and relativistic thermodynamics to cosmology, it has been usual to consider homogeneous models of the universe, filled with an idealized fluid, which at any given time has the same properties throughout the whole of its spatial extent. This procedure has a certain heuristic justification on account of the greater mathematical simplicity of homogeneous as compared with non-homogeneous models, and has a measure of observational justification on account of the approximate uniformity in the large scale distribution of extra-galactic nebulae, which is found out to the some 108 light-years which the Mount Wilson 100-inch telescope has been able to penetrate. Nevertheless, it is evident that some preponderating tendency for inhomogeneities to disappear with time would have to be demonstrated, before such models could be used with confidence to obtain extrapolated conclusions as to the behavior of the universe in very distant regions or over exceedingly long periods of time.