On Gravitational Repulsion

TL;DR

This paper explores how tiny primordial fluctuations with effective negative gravitational mass can expand and evolve into the large cosmic voids observed in the universe, challenging traditional views on gravity.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that small negative fluctuations in the early universe can grow into large voids, suggesting a new perspective on cosmic structure formation.

Findings

Negative fluctuations can expand into voids of 40 Mpc.

Void regions are almost devoid of galaxies.

Negative gravitational mass effects influence large-scale structure.

Abstract

The concepts of negative gravitational mass and gravitational repulsion are alien to general relativity. Still, we show here that small negative fluctuations - small dimples in the primordial density field - that act as if they have an effective negative gravitational mass, play a dominant role in shaping our Universe. These initially tiny perturbations repel matter surrounding them, expand and grow to become voids in the galaxy distribution. These voids - regions with a diameter of $40 \h$ Mpc which are almost devoid of galaxies - are the largest object in the Universe.