Recent Abstracts

The references and abstracts listed below have been extracted from the NASA  - Astronomy Abstract Service (Some of the main papers in this list may be downloaded directly from NASA - ADS in tif image format)

Abstract
In two previous papers we have described a new cosmological model which we have called the quasi-steady state cosmological model (QSSC) (Hoyle et al. 1993, 1994). In this theory matter is created only in strong gravitational fields associated with dense aggregates of matter. In this paper and in Hoyle et al. (1994) we are attempting to show that many aspects of the observable universe are explicable using this theory so that it is a reasonable alternative to the classical Big-Bang model which has been so widely accepted. We first review briefly the theory of the creation process and show how we arrived at the quasi-oscillatory model. In later sections we show how two of the three parameters of the theory P, and Q, are related to two observed quantities. Q is related to the value of the Hubble constant H(sub 0) at the present epoch, and the counts of radio sources enable us to determine P/Q and hence P. We find that Q = 40 x 10(exp 9) years and P = 8 x 10(exp 11) years. We then calculate numerical values for the mass density in the universe and the rate of creation. Finally, we discuss the properties of galaxies including faint galaxies, creation events in individual galaxies, and the mass-to-light ratios in galaxies and clusters. The results here are particularly interesting since in this model stars can be much older than 1/H(sub 0). This means that much of the mass in galaxies will naturally be baryonic and will consist of evolved stars. Thus very large mass-to-light ratios are expected in galaxies and in clusters. We conclude by summarizing the results obtained in all three papers. More work is required, particularly on the cosmogonical aspects of the theory, but a very attractive aspect of it is that the creation process in the centers of galaxies leads to a comparatively simple way of understanding explosive phenomena.

Abstract
We solve the cosmological equations obtained by Hoyle, Burbidge and Narlikar (1995a) from a Machian theory of gravity in the case where the universe satisfies the Weyl postulate and the cosmological principle. The equations in effect are the Einstein equations of general relativity together with a negative cosmological constant and a trace-free zero rest-mass scalar field. We find a wide range of solutions for spatial sections of zero, positive and negative curvature. The solution for the quasi-steady state cosmology used by Hoyle, Burbidge and Narlikar (1994 a,b) is shown to be an approximation to the simplest of the above solutions. We apply the simplest solution to work out the redshift-magnitude relation and the radio source count. We show that there are marginal differences from the results obtained by Hoyle et al (1994a), although the present exact solution provides a better rationale for the parameters of the model.

We answer criticisms made by Wright of the quasi-steady-state cosmology (QSSC). It is shown that none of his criticisms is valid, and the QSSC remains a viable cosmological theory.

Abstract

In this paper we show that strong statistical evidence has been available for many years showing that QSO redshifts in at least some cases are not caused by the expansion of the Universe. In a complicated world the number of unexpected associations that can be subjected to statistical test is very large and somewhere among the entire ensemble of such associations a few may seem of significance, if taken separately, which are only chance effects, however, occasioned by the profusion of cases in the ensemble. False associations of this kind show up readily as new data become available, since the original chance effects are unlikely to be repeated in the new data. An example was an algebraic formula for the sunspot number which caused a considerable stir early in the present century, the formula agreeing with sunspot numbers over many years with seemingly uncanny precision, only for the agreement to disappear as soon as new sunspot numbers came along. This well-known statistical trap cannot be claimed against the proposition that QSOs of high redshifts are sometimes physically associated with nearby galaxies. This proposition has now been exposed to statistical test for almost thirty years, and it survives in new data just as well as in old data. Additionally, a number of cases have come along with the years where actual physical connections have been detected between QSOs and nearby galaxies. Six of these cases are discussed in detail in the present paper. It is consistent with standard physics for redshifts to arise from doppler motions and also in radiation emitted by matter in a gravitational field, as well as from the cosmological expansion of the Universe. These other possibilities have been examined repeatedly over the years but have never been found to give convincing explanations for the QSO-nearby galaxy associations described above. One is therefore left with the non-standard possibility that different samples of matter can have different mass scales. No theory of how the QSO mass scale could be different from the usual galaxy mass scale has hitherto been found acceptable, with the consequence that most astrophysicists and cosmologists have felt justified in ignoring the evidence for anomalous redshifts, the thought being that what is known to be impossible remains impossible no matter how strong the evidence for it may be. The main purpose of the present paper is to question this mode of thinking. We show how, consistent with the quasi steady-state cosmological theory developed recently in a number of papers, it is possible for samples of material of different ages to have different mass scales.

Abstract Not Available.

Abstract

It is shown that from a simple and elegant action it is possible to obtain: (i) the equations of classical dynamics, (ii) Schroedinger's equation, (iii) the dynamical equation of special relativity, (iv) scale-invariant gravitation including general relativity, (v) the mathematical theory of the origin of matter, and (vi) the potential function of inflationary theory. When the action term in question is related to the electromagnetic theory an ugly feature arises, however. There must be a multiplication by a small dimensionless number of order 10 exp -38. If this ugly feature is to be avoided, matter must be taken to originate not as particles observed in the laboratory but as Planck particles. The decay of each such particle into about 10 exp 19 hadrons then explains the genesis of numbers of order 10 exp 38 that appear in physics and cosmology.

Abstract

Possible origins of the structure in the cosmic microwave background radiation are discussed. It is pointed out that the presence of such structure is compatible with the 1990 modified steady state model proposed by Arp et al. The possibility that the fluctuations are due to dust grains in the form of ironwhiskers produced comparatively locally is also discussed.

Abstract
The cosmological theory of inflation is reviewed. The standard model and its problems are summarized and the basic mechanism of inflation is described. The epicycles of inflation are addressed and the problem of structure formation is considered, including the scale-invariant spectrum, the origin of density perturbations. The role of inflation in the problems of dark matter and the cosmological constant is discussed.

Abstract

The use of astrophysical sources in providing an understanding of the total energy density of the background is reviewed. The need of a thermalizing agent is stressed. The nearer such an agent comes to establishing thermodynamic equilibrium, the smoother the background becomes. This is shown to be true despite irregularities in the distribution of the thermalizer. The ejection of iron whiskers from galaxies and the ways in which such whiskers could affect the microwave background are discussed.