Structures in the Universe by Exact Methods

As the structures in our Universe are mapped out on ever larger scales, and with increasing detail, the use of inhomogeneous models is becoming an essential tool for analyzing and understanding them. This book reviews a number of important developments in the application of inhomogeneous solutions of Einstein’s field equations to cosmology. It shows how inhomogeneous models can be employed to study the evolution of structures such as galaxy clusters and galaxies with central black holes, and to account for cosmological observations like supernovae dimming, the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations or the dependence of the Hubble parameter on redshift within classical general relativity. Whatever `dark matter’ and `dark energy’ turn out to be, inhomogeneities exist on many scales and need to be investigated with all appropriate methods. This book is of great value to all astrophysicists and researchers working in cosmology, from graduate students to academic researchers.

Krzysztof Bolejko is an Assistant Professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland. His area of research is cosmology, in particular applications of inhomogeneous cosmological models, study of light propagation, backreaction effects, and faster than light mechanisms.

Andrzej Krasiński is an Associate Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland. He is currently doing research in gravitation theory, in particular exact solutions of Einstein's equations and inhomogeneous cosmological models. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the GRG Journal, where he is the editor of the 'Golden Oldies' series of reprints of classical papers on relativity.

Charles Hellaby is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, South Africa. His research interest is cosmology and relativity, particularly properties and applications of inhomogeneous metrics, and relating observations to cosmological models.

Marie-Noëlle Célérier is a Researcher at the Laboratoire Univers et Théories (LUTH), Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, France. Her two main fields of interest are scale relativity and inhomogeneous cosmology.