A Test of the Copernican Principle

2007/11/22 by Robert R. Caldwell, R. R. Caldwell, Albert Stebbins +1 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Mathematical Theories and Applications #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.191302

published as Phys.Rev.Lett.100:191302,2008 · 4 pages, 3 figures

arxiv created 2007/11/22 · openalex publication_date 2008/05/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

The blackbody nature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation spectrum is used in a modern test of the Copernican principle. The reionized universe serves as a mirror to reflect CMB photons, thereby permitting a view of ourselves and the local gravitational potential. By comparing with measurements of the CMB spectrum, a limit is placed on the possibility that we occupy a privileged location, residing at the center of a large void. The Hubble diagram inferred from lines of sight originating at the center of the void may be misinterpreted to indicate cosmic acceleration. Current limits on spectral distortions are shown to exclude the largest voids which mimic cosmic acceleration. More sensitive measurements of the CMB spectrum could prove the existence of such a void or confirm the validity of the Copernican principle.

Citations

• Measurements of Ω and Λ from 42 High‐Redshift Supernovae
• The COBE mission - Its design and performance two years after launch
• Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant
• Inhomogeneous spacetimes as a dark energy model
• Undermining the cosmological principle: almost isotropic observations in inhomogeneous cosmologies
• Is Dark Energy the Only Solution to the Apparent Acceleration of the Present Universe?
• Three‐YearWilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe(WMAP) Observations: Implications for Cosmology
• Superposition of blackbodies and the dipole anisotropy: A possibility to calibrate CMB experiments
• Geocentrism reexamined

Cited by

• A General Test of the Copernican Principle
• The isotropic blackbody CMB as evidence for a homogeneous universe
• Living in a Void: Testing the Copernican Principle with Distant Supernovae
• Rendering dark energy void
• Probing violation of the Copernican principle via the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect
• Copernican principle [wikipedia]