Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity

The Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity^[1] is a Machian and conformal theory of gravity proposed by Fred Hoyle and Jayant Narlikar that originally fits into the quasi steady state model of the universe.^[2]

Description

The gravitational constant G is arbitrary and is determined by the mean density of matter in the universe. The theory was inspired by the Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory for electrodynamics.^[3] When Richard Feynman, as a graduate student, lectured on the Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory in the weekly physics seminar at Princeton, Albert Einstein was in the audience and stated at question time that he was trying to achieve the same thing for gravity.^[4]

Incompatibility

Stephen Hawking showed in 1965 that the theory is incompatible with an expanding universe, because the Wheeler–Feynman advanced solution would diverge.^[5] However, at that time the accelerating expansion of the universe was not known, which resolves the divergence issue because of the cosmic event horizon.^[6]

Comparison with Einstein's General Relativity

The Hoyle–Narlikar theory reduces to Einstein's general relativity in the limit of a smooth fluid model of particle distribution constant in time and space.^[7]

Hoyle–Narlikar's theory is consistent with some cosmological tests.^[8]

Hypothesis

Unlike the standard cosmological model, the quasi steady state hypothesis implies the universe is eternal. According to Narlikar, multiple mini bangs would occur at the center of quasars, with various creation fields (or C-field) continuously generating matter out of empty space due to local concentration of negative energy that would also prevent violation of conservation laws, in order to keep the mass density constant as the universe expands.^[9][10] The low-temperature cosmic background radiation would not originate from the Big Bang but from metallic dust made from supernovae, radiating the energy of stars.^[11][12]

Challenge

However, the quasi steady-state hypothesis is challenged by observation as it does not fit into WMAP data.^[13]

See also

• Mach's principle
• Conformal gravity
• Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory
• Brans–Dicke theory
• Non-standard cosmology

Notes

1. "Cosmology: Math Plus Mach Equals Far-Out Gravity". Time. Jun 26, 1964. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
2. F. Hoyle; J. V. Narlikar (1964). "A New Theory of Gravitation" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society A. 282 (1389): 191–207. Bibcode:1964RSPSA.282..191H. doi:10.1098/rspa.1964.0227. S2CID 59402270.
3. Hoyle, Narlikar (1995). "Cosmology and action-at-a-distance electrodynamics" (PDF). Reviews of Modern Physics. 67 (1): 113–155. Bibcode:1995RvMP...67..113H. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.67.113.
4. Feynman, Richard P. (1985). Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. W. W. Norton & Company. Part II, The Princeton years, pp. 91 et seq. ISBN 978-0393316049.
5. Hawking, S. W. (20 July 1965). "On the Hoyle–Narlikar Theory of Gravitation" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 286 (1406): 313–319. Bibcode:1965RSPSA.286..313H. doi:10.1098/rspa.1965.0146. S2CID 122705280.
6. Fearn, H.; Woodward, J.F.; van Rossum, N. (23 July 2015). "New Theoretical Results for the Mach Effect Thruster". AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2015-4082.
7. Rodal, José (May 2019). "A Machian wave effect in conformal, scalar--tensor gravitational theory". General Relativity and Gravitation. 51 (5): 64. Bibcode:2019GReGr..51...64R. doi:10.1007/s10714-019-2547-9. ISSN 1572-9532. S2CID 182905618.
8. Canuto, V. M.; Narlikar, J. V. (15 February 1980). "Cosmological tests of the Hoyle-Narlikar conformal gravity" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 236: 6–23. Bibcode:1980ApJ...236....6C. doi:10.1086/157714.
9. Vinodh Ilangovan; K. Manish Sharma; P. Chitra (23 January 2010). "Jayant Narlikar's Cosmology". NCBS news.
10. Narlikar, Jayant V. (March 1974). "Mini-bangs in cosmology and astrophysics" (PDF). Pramana. 2 (3): 158–170. Bibcode:1974Prama...2..158N. doi:10.1007/BF02847326. S2CID 123001024.
11. J.V. Narlikar; R.G. Vishwakarma; Amir Hajian; Tarun Souradeep; G. Burbidge; F. Hoyle (2003). "Inhomogeneities in the Microwave Background Radiation interpreted within the framework of the Quasi-Steady State Cosmology". Astrophysical Journal. 585 (1): 1–11. arXiv:astro-ph/0211036. Bibcode:2003ApJ...585....1N. doi:10.1086/345928. S2CID 15618626.
12. J. V. Narlikar; N. C. Rana (1983). "Cosmic microwave background spectrum in the Hoyle–Narlikar cosmology" (PDF). Physics Letters A. 99 (2–3): 75–76. Bibcode:1983PhLA...99...75N. doi:10.1016/0375-9601(83)90927-1.
13. Edward L. Wright. "Errors in the Steady State and Quasi-SS Models". Retrieved 7 August 2010.

Bibliography

• Hoyle, Fred; Narlikar, Jayant V.; Freeman, W.H. (1974). Action at a distance in physics and cosmology. W. H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 978-0716703464.
• Hoyle, Fred; Narlikar, Jayant V. (1996). Lectures on Cosmology and Action at a Distance Electrodynamics. World Scientific. ISBN 978-9810225582.
• Hoyle, Fred; Burbidge, Geoffrey; Narlikar, Jayant V. (2000). A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521662239.
• Narlikar, Jayant V. (2002). An Introduction to Cosmology (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521793766.