A new gravitational interaction of cosmological importance

Abstract

It is suggested that the combination of general relativity and wave mechanics leads to a new gravitational interaction. Applied to photons traveling through uniform material it produces a 'tired light' type of redshift that is similar to a Doppler shift. It can be combined with an almost static cosmology to make definite predictions that can be compared with observations. For example, it predicts a Hubble constant of 74C exp{minus}1/3 km/s/Mpc, where C is a gas clumping factor with a value near unity, by equating the energy-loss rates of the background radiation and the cosmic gas; the interaction leads to the prediction that the temperature of the background radiation is 2.90 C exp {minus}1/6 K. The only observational input to this calculation is from the excellent explanation the theory provides for the background X-ray radiation. It can resolve the 'missing mass' problem for clusters of galaxies and possibly for galactic rotation curves. Finally, it can explain the occurrence of 'voids' in the galactic distribution as being due to extra redshifts produced by cosmic gas clouds. 18 refs.