An alternative cosmology: the QSSC

Abstract

This presentation will begin by highlighting the observational constraints on the standard hot big bang models, with or without inflation, with or without the cosmological constant. It appears that very limited and contrived set of parameters are now allowed for these models, robbing them of their initial simplicity and hence credibility. This therefore motivates thinking about alternative cosmologies, and here one such model, the Quasi-Steady State Cosmology (QSSC) of Hoyle, Burbidge and Narlikar will be described. In the QSSC the basic theory is Machian and links inertia to the distribution of matter in the universe. By starting with a conformally invatiant action that allows the creation of matter, one arrives at a set of field equations which can be solved for homogeneous and isotropic world models. These models have a few parameters which can be fixed by recourse to a few cosmological observations. The models then become essentially fixed and it is a genuine test of their validity that they are able to explain the large scale features of discrete source populations like the Hubble diagram, the radio source count, the angular size flux density relation for radio sources, the surface brightness test, etc. The theory also accounts for the observed features of the microwave background and the abundances of light nuclei, which are commonly considered the hallmarks of the standard model. In the end a few distinguishing tests for this cosmology will be described and also some ideas on structure formation.