Living in a non-flat universe: theoretical formalism

Recent analysis of the Planck measurements opened a possibility that we live in a non-flat universe. Given the renewed interest in non-zero spatial curvature, here we re-visit the light propagation in a non-flat universe and provide the gauge-invariant expressions for the cosmological probes: the luminosity distance, galaxy clustering, weak gravitational lensing, and cosmic microwave background anisotropies. With the positional dependence of the spatial metric, the light propagation in a non-flat universe is much more complicated than in a flat universe. Accounting for all the relativistic effects and including the vector and tensor contributions, we derive the expressions for the cosmological probes and explicitly verify their gauge invariance. We compare our results to previous work in a non-flat universe, if present, but this work represents the first comprehensive investigation of the cosmological probes in a non-flat universe. Our theoretical formalism in a non-flat universe will play a crucial role in constraining the spatial curvature in the upcoming large-scale surveys.

Automated summary

Recent analysis of Planck measurements suggests the possibility of a non-flat universe. This study re-examines light propagation in a non-flat universe and provides gauge-invariant expressions for various cosmological probes. With the inclusion of relativistic effects and the vector and tensor contributions, this study comprehensively investigates these probes in a non-flat universe, which will be crucial for constraining spatial curvature in future large-scale surveys.