paper

A new approach to the evolution of cosmological perturbations on large scales

arXiv:astro-ph/0003278 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.62.043527

Abstract

We discuss the evolution of linear perturbations about a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background metric, using only the local conservation of energy-momentum. We show that on sufficiently large scales the curvature perturbation on spatial hypersurfaces of uniform-density is conserved when the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation is negligible. This is the first time that this result has been demonstrated independently of the gravitational field equations. A physical picture of long-wavelength perturbations as being composed of separate Robertson-Walker universes gives a simple understanding of the possible evolution of the curvature perturbation, in particular clarifying the conditions under which super-horizon curvature perturbations may vary.

8 pages, revtex, 1 figure, version to appear in Phys Rev D. Sign errors in original version corrected plus other minor additions

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