Redshift Academy


Hubble's Law
------------

Hubble compared recession velocities of galaxies by measuring their 
redshift and comparing this with their distance.  The distances were 
obtained using Cepheid variable stars found in the galaxies.  Cepheid 
variable stars were discovered by Henrietta Leavitt and are objects 
whose period of variability is related to their average luminosity.   
By comparing stars at assumed comparable distances, she found that 
the ones with longer periods had higher luminosities.  Subsequent to 
Leavitt's discovery, Harlow Shapley used parallax methods to measure 
the distance to one of these cepheid variables.  The allowed him to 
determine the relationship between the period of the variable and its 
absolute luminosity.  Now the distance to any cepheid variable could
be found by measuring its period, determining its absolute luminosity,
comparing this to its apparent luminosity and applying the inverse 
square law.

Hubble found that there was a positive relationship between the
recession velocity, v, and the proper distance, D, and associated 
this with the expansion of the universe.  Thus:

           v = H₀D

Where H₀ is the HUBBLE CONSTANT.  This is HUBBLE'S LAW.
Hubble's law tells us that velocity is dependent on distance.
Gravitationally interacting galaxies move relative to each other 
independent of the expansion of the Universe.  These relative 
velocities need to be accounted for separately.

Hubble's Law can be derived in terms of the expansion of space in
the following manner:

   O  a    a    a    a   a
   o----o----o----o----o----> x
        x         y

Point O is fixed.  a is the scale factor and is a function of t. It 
represents the relative expansion of the universe.  It is easy to
see that as the system is stretched in the x direction, the further
away the points are from O, the faster they must be moving.
  
D = an     where n is an integer that represents the number of a's.  
            So x->y = 2.  D is the distance between the objects.
.       .
D = v = an
        .
      = a(a/a)n
         .
      = (a/a)D

      = H₀D where H₀ is the HUBBLE CONSTANT (3 x 10^-18 s^-1)

In 3D

D = a√{(Δx)² + (Δy)² + (Δz)²}
.    .
D = (a/a)D as before

Since a is function of time, the coordinate mesh expands with 
time.  

            ---------------
           /    /    /    /              
          /----/----/----/
         /    /    /    /
         ---------------
                                     ^
            ------------             |
           /   /   /   /             | time
          /---/---/---/              |
         /   /   /   /
         ------------

                   a(t)
            ---------
           /  /  /  / a(t)             
          /--/--/--/
         /  /  /  /
         ---------


H₀ corresponds to the LHS of the FRW equations at the 
time of observation.

The current estimate of H₀ is about 72 (km/s)/Mpc (1 Mpc 
~ 3.26 x 10⁶ light years).  So at 3.26 mly the velocity is 
72 km/s, at 7.52 mly it is 144 km/s and so on.

Cosmological Redshift
---------------------

Consider a light wave and an observer moving away from 
the source with velocity, v.  Therefore,

λ_S + vt = ct

or,

t = λ_S/(c - v) = c/(c - v)f_S = 1/(1 - β)f_S where β = v/c

The observer will measure this time to be:

t_O = t/γ where γ = 1/√(1 - β²)

Now,

f_O = 1/t_O = γ(1 - β)f_S

Therefore,

f_S/f_O  = √[(1 + β)/(1 - β)]

The resulting redshift, z, is:

z = (λ_O - λ_S)/λ_S ≡ (f_S - f_O)/f_O

  = λ_O/λ_S - 1

  = f_S/f_O - 1

  = √[(1 + v/c)/(1 - v/c)] - 1

  = (1 + v/c + v²/2c² + ...) - 1

For v<<c we can write:  

z ~ v/c 

Therefore, in terms of the Hubble constant we get:

z = H₀D/c
     .
  = (a/a)D/c

Now z = (f_S - f_S)/f_S ~ df/f = v/c
 
      = Hdt since D = cdt
 
      = da/a

Equating, and solving we get:

a₀/a_S = z + 1

It is important to note that cosmological redshift is different 
to Doppler shift.  In Doppler Shift, the wavelength of the 
emitted radiation depends on the motion of the object at the 
instant the photons are emitted.  In cosmological redshift, 
the wavelength at which the radiation is originally emitted is 
stretched as it travels through expanding space.  Cosmological 
redshift results from the expansion of space itself and not 
from the motion of an individual body.


Distance Measurement
--------------------

We can use the above relationship to estimate the distance to
objects.

D = cz/H₀

The modern discovery of TYPE 1A supernovae has enabled further 
refinement to these techniques by allowing measurements at much
greater distances.  Type Ia supernovae occur in a binary system 
where 2 stars orbit one another.  One of the stars is a white 
dwarf.  The other can be a giant star or even a smaller white 
dwarf.  The white dwarf pulls material off its companion star, 
adding that matter to itself.  Eventually, when the white dwarf 
reaches a certain mass a nuclear reaction occurs, causing the 
white dwarf to explode and produce a burst of light 5 billion 
times brighter than the Sun.  Because the chain reaction always 
happens in the same way, and at the same mass, the brightness 
of these Type Ia supernovae are also always the same.  Using 
this knowledge, the distance to the galaxy containing the 
supernova can be computed by comparing the observed and absolute 
intensities and again applying the inverse square law.

Comoving and Proper Distance
----------------------------

Comoving and proper distance are two closely related distance 
measures used by cosmologists to define distances between 
objects. Proper distance corresponds to where a distant object 
would be at a specific moment of cosmological time, which can 
change over time due to the expansion of the universe. Comoving 
distance factors out the expansion of the universe, giving a 
distance that does not change in time due to the expansion of 
space.  Comoving distance and proper distance are defined to be 
equal at the present time.  

Age of Universe
---------------

Hubble time: 1/H₀ ~ 14 billion years.