Milestones of general relativity: Hubble's law (1929) and the expansion of the universe

TL;DR

This paper reviews the historical development of the understanding of the expanding universe, emphasizing Hubble's law and the role of General Relativity in shaping modern cosmology.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive historical overview of the milestones in general relativity related to the universe's expansion, highlighting Hubble's law and subsequent developments.

Findings

Hubble's law established the universe's expansion.

General Relativity is fundamental to understanding cosmic expansion.

Historical analysis clarifies the evolution of cosmological theories.

Abstract

Hubble's announcement of the magnitude-redshift relation \cite{Hub29} brought about a major change in our understanding of the Universe. After tracing the pre-history of Hubble's work, and the hiatus in our understanding which his underestimate of distances led to, this review focuses on the development and success of our understanding of the expanding universe up to the present day, and the part which General Relativity plays in that success.