Cosmic screening of the gravitational interaction

TL;DR

This paper develops a scalar perturbation theory for a universe with discrete dark matter and continuous dark energy, revealing a Yukawa-type gravitational screening effect with a range of about 3700 Mpc.

Contribution

It introduces a unified perturbation framework that accounts for linear and nonlinear effects at all scales, incorporating Yukawa screening in gravitational interactions.

Findings

Gravitational potential exhibits Yukawa screening with ~3700 Mpc range.

The theory applies to all cosmic scales, from linear to nonlinear regimes.

Provides a basis for numerical simulations of cosmological models.

Abstract

We study a universe filled with cold dark matter in the form of discrete inhomogeneities (e.g., galaxies) and dark energy in the form of a continuous perfect fluid. We develop a first-order scalar perturbation theory in the weak gravity limit around a spatially flat Friedmann universe. Our approach works at all cosmic scales and incorporates linear and nonlinear effects with respect to energy density fluctuations. The gravitational potential can be split into individual contributions from each matter source. Each potential is characterized by a Yukawa interaction with the same range, which is of the order of 3700 Mpc at the present time. The derived equations can form the theoretical basis for numerical simulations for a wide class of modern cosmological models.