A new perspective on steady-state cosmology: from Einstein to Hoyle

Abstract

We recently reported the discovery of an unpublished manuscript by Albert Einstein in which he attempted a 'steady-state' model of the universe, i.e., a cosmic model in which the expanding universe remains essentially unchanged due to a continuous formation of matter from empty space. The manuscript was apparently written in early 1931, many years before the steady-state models of Fred Hoyle, Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold. We compare Einstein's steady-state cosmology with that of Hoyle, Bondi and Gold and consider the reasons Einstein abandoned his model. The relevance of steady-state models for today's cosmology is briefly reviewed.

To be published in the 'Proceedings of the 2014 Institute of Physics International Conference on the History of Physics', Cambridge University Press. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1504.02873, arXiv:1402.0132