View source for Plasma cosmology

{{Short description|Non-standard model of the universe; emphasizes the role of ionized gases}}
[[Image:Klein-Alfvén_cosmology.svg|thumb|350px|Comparison of the evolution of the universe under Alfvén–Klein cosmology and the [[Big Bang theory]].<ref name=Alfven1990 >{{cite journal 
|last1=Alfven | first1=H.O.G. 
|year=1990 
|title= Cosmology in the plasma universe – an introductory exposition 
|journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 
|volume=18 
|pages=5–10 
|doi=10.1109/27.45495
|bibcode=1990ITPS...18....5A }}</ref>]]

'''Plasma cosmology''' is a [[non-standard cosmology]] whose central postulate is that the dynamics of ionized gases and [[plasma (physics)|plasmas]] play important, if not dominant, roles in the physics of the universe at [[Interstellar space|interstellar]] and [[Intergalactic space|intergalactic]] scales.<ref name="Peratt1992">{{cite journal
|last1      = Peratt
|first1     = Anthony
|title      = Plasma Cosmology
|journal    = Sky & Telescope
|volume     = 83
|issue      = 2
|pages      = 136–141
|date       = February 1992
|url        = http://plasmauniverse.info/downloads/CosmologyPeratt.pdf
 |access-date = 26 May 2012
}} recount: It was described as this in the February 1992 issue of ''Sky & Telescope'' ("Plasma Cosmology"), and by Anthony Peratt in the 1980s, who describes it as a "nonstandard picture". The [[Lambda-CDM model|ΛCDM model]] big bang picture is typically described as the "concordance model", "standard [[scientific model|model]]" or "standard [[scientific paradigm|paradigm]]" of cosmology [http://www.slac.stanford.edu/spires/find/hep/www?rawcmd=FIND+T+%22STANDARD+COSMOLOGICAL+MODEL%22 here]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, and [http://www.arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/9505066 here].</ref><ref name=Alfven1990 />  In contrast, the current [[observational cosmology|observations]] and [[Lambda-CDM model|models]] of [[cosmology|cosmologists]] and [[astrophysics|astrophysicists]] explain the formation, development, and evolution of large-scale structures as dominated by [[gravity]] (including its formulation in [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[General relativity|general theory of relativity]]).

The original form of the theory, '''Alfvén–Klein cosmology''', was developed by [[Hannes Alfvén]] and [[Oskar Klein]] in the 1960s and 1970s,<ref name="Parker1993">{{cite book
|last=Parker
|first=Barry
|date=1993
|title=The Vindication of the Big Bang
|chapter=Plasma Cosmology
|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-5980-5_15
|publisher=Springer
|location=Boston, MA
|isbn=978-1-4899-5980-5
|doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-5980-5_15
|page=325
}}</ref> and holds that matter and [[antimatter]] exist in equal quantities at very large scales, that the universe is eternal rather than bounded in time by the [[Big Bang]], and that the [[expansion of the universe|expansion of the observable universe]] is caused by annihilation between matter and antimatter rather than a mechanism like [[cosmic inflation]].<ref name=Alfven1990 />

Cosmologists and astrophysicists who have evaluated plasma cosmology reject it because it does not match the observations of astrophysical phenomena as well as the currently accepted [[Big Bang model]].{{sfn|Parker|1993|pp=335–336}} Very few papers supporting plasma cosmology have appeared in the literature since the mid-1990s.

The term '''plasma universe'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> is sometimes used as a synonym for plasma cosmology,<ref name="Peratt1992"/> as an alternative description of the plasma in the universe.<ref name=Alfven1990 /> Plasma cosmology is distinct from [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] ideas collectively called the ''Electric Universe,'' though proponents of each are known to be sympathetic to each other''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hogan and Velikovsky |url=https://www.jerrypournelle.com/science/velikovsky.htm |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=www.jerrypournelle.com}}</ref>''<ref name="sa-eu">{{Cite news |last=Shermer |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Shermer |date=2015-10-01 |title=The Difference between Science and Pseudoscience |work=[[Scientific American]] |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-difference-between-science-and-pseudoscience/ |access-date=2022-03-28}}</ref> These pseudoscientific ideas vary widely<ref>Bridgman, William T., Stuart Robbins, and C. Alex Young. "Crank Astronomy As A Teaching Tool." ''American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts# 215''. Vol. 215. 2010.</ref> but generally claim that electric currents flow into stars and power them like light bulbs, contradicting well-established [[Scientific theory|scientific theories]] and observations showing that stars are powered by [[nuclear fusion]].<ref>
{{cite web
| url          = https://www.vice.com/en/article/electric-universe-theory-thunderbolts-project-wallace-thornhill/
| title        = The People Who Believe Electricity Rules the Universe
| last         = Scoles
| first        = Sarah
| date         = 18 February 2016
| website      = Motherboard
| publisher    = Vice
| access-date  = 1 November 2022
| quote        = }}</ref>

==Alfvén–Klein cosmology<!--'Alfvén–Klein cosmology', 'Alfvén–Klein model', 'Klein–Alfvén cosmology', and 'Ambiplasma' redirect here-->==
[[Image:Cosmic-triple-jump.svg|thumb|200px|[[Hannes Alfvén]] suggested that [[Plasma scaling|scaling]] laboratory results can be extrapolated up to the scale of the universe. A scaling jump by a factor 10<sup>9</sup> was required to extrapolate to the [[magnetosphere]], a second jump to extrapolate to galactic conditions, and a third jump to extrapolate to the [[Hubble's law#Hubble length|Hubble distance]].<ref name=scaling>{{cite journal 
|last1=Alfvén
|first1=Hannes
|date=1983
|title=On hierarchical cosmology 
|journal=Astrophysics and Space Science
|volume=89
|issue=2
|pages=313–324
|bibcode=1983Ap&SS..89..313A|doi=10.1007/bf00655984 |s2cid=122396373
}}</ref>]]

In the 1960s, the theory behind plasma cosmology was introduced by Alfvén,<ref name="Alfven1966" >{{cite book
|first=Alfvén |last=H.
|title=Worlds-antiworlds: antimatter in cosmology
|publisher=Freeman
|date=1966 }}</ref> a plasma expert who won the 1970 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for his work on [[magnetohydrodynamics]].<ref name="Kragh1996" /> He proposed the use of [[plasma scaling]] to extrapolate the results of laboratory experiments and [[plasma (physics)|plasma physics]] observations and scale them over many [[Order of magnitude|orders of magnitude]] up to the largest observable objects in the universe (see box<ref name=scaling/>).<ref name="Alfvenpu1987">{{cite journal
|last1=Alfven | first1=H.O G
|title=Plasma universe
|journal=Physica Scripta
|volume=T18
|pages=20–28
|url=http://plasmauniverse.info/downloads/AlfvenPlasmaUniverse.pdf
|date= 1987
 |doi=10.1088/0031-8949/1987/t18/002|bibcode = 1987PhST...18...20A | s2cid=250828260
}}</ref> In 1971, [[Oskar Klein]], a Swedish theoretical physicist, extended the earlier proposals and developed the Alfvén–Klein model of the [[universe]],<ref>{{cite journal
|last1=Klein|first1=O.
|title=Arguments concerning relativity and cosmology
|journal=Science 
|volume=171 
|issue=3969
|pages=339–45
|doi=10.1126/science.171.3969.339
|bibcode=1971Sci...171..339K
|pmid=17808634
|date=1971|s2cid=22308581
}}</ref> or "metagalaxy", an earlier term used to refer to the empirically accessible part of the universe, rather than the entire universe including parts beyond our [[particle horizon]].<ref name="Alfven1963">{{cite book
|last1=Alfvén|first1=H.
|last2=Falthammar|first2=C.-G. 
|title=Cosmic electrodynamics
|publisher=Clarendon Press
|location=Oxford
|date=1963}}</ref><ref name="Kragh1996">{{cite book  	
|last=Kragh
|first=H.S.
|title=Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe
|volume=23
|pages=482–483
|isbn=978-0-691-00546-1
|publisher=Princeton University Press
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6p0AFgzeMsC&pg=PA384
|date=1996}}</ref>

In this model, the universe is made up of equal amounts of matter and [[antimatter]] with the boundaries between the regions of matter and antimatter being delineated by cosmic [[electromagnetic field]]s formed by [[Double layer (plasma physics)|double layers]], thin regions comprising two parallel layers with opposite electrical charge. Interaction between these boundary regions would generate radiation, and this would form the plasma. Alfvén introduced the term '''ambiplasma'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> for a plasma made up of matter and antimatter and the double layers are thus formed of ambiplasma. According to Alfvén, such an ambiplasma would be relatively long-lived as the component particles and antiparticles would be too hot and too low-density to annihilate each other rapidly. The double layers will act to repel clouds of opposite type, but combine clouds of the same type, creating ever-larger regions of matter and antimatter. The idea of ambiplasma was developed further into the forms of heavy ambiplasma (protons-antiprotons) and light ambiplasma (electrons-positrons).<ref name="Alfven1966" />

Alfvén–Klein cosmology was proposed in part to explain the observed [[baryon asymmetry]] in the universe, starting from an [[initial condition]] of exact [[symmetry]] between matter and antimatter. According to Alfvén and Klein, ambiplasma would naturally form pockets of matter and pockets of antimatter that would expand outwards as annihilation between matter and antimatter occurred in the double layer at the boundaries. They concluded that we must just happen to live in one of the pockets that was mostly [[baryon]]s rather than antibaryons, explaining the baryon asymmetry. The pockets, or bubbles, of matter or antimatter would expand because of annihilations at the boundaries, which Alfvén considered as a possible explanation for the observed [[expansion of the universe]], which would be merely a local phase of a much larger history. Alfvén postulated that the universe has always existed <ref name="Alfven1988">{{cite web 
|last1=Alfvén |first1=H.
|title=Has the Universe an Origin? (Trita-EPP)
|volume=7 
|page=6
|url=http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/20/047/20047579.pdf  
|date=1988}}</ref><ref name=Peratt>{{cite journal
|last1=Peratt|first1=A.L.
|title=Introduction to Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology 
|journal=Astrophysics and Space Science
|volume=227
|issue=1–2
|pages=3–11 
|bibcode=1995Ap&SS.227....3P 
|doi=10.1007/bf00678062
|url = http://www.plasmauniverse.info/downloads/PrincetonEditorial.1993.pdf
|date=1995|isbn=978-94-010-4181-2
|s2cid=118452749
}}</ref> due to [[causality]] arguments and the rejection of ''[[ex nihilo]]'' models, such as the [[Big Bang]], as a stealth form of [[creationism]].<ref name="Alfven1992">{{cite journal
|last1=Alfvén |first1=H.
|title=Cosmology: Myth or Science?
|journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
|volume=20
|issue=6
|pages=590–600
|bibcode=1992ITPS...20..590A
|doi=10.1109/27.199498
|year=1992 
}}</ref><ref name="Alfven1984">{{cite journal
|last1=Alfvén|first1=H.
|title=Cosmology - Myth or science? 
|journal=Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy
|volume=5
|issue=1
|pages=79–98
|issn=0250-6335
|bibcode = 1984JApA....5...79A
|doi=10.1007/BF02714974
|date=1984|s2cid=122751100
}}</ref> The exploding double layer was also suggested by Alfvén as a possible mechanism for the generation of [[cosmic rays]],
<ref name="Alfven1981">{{cite book
|first=Alfvén |last=H.
|title=Cosmic plasma
|pages=IV.10.3.2, 109
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|date=1981}} recount: "Double layers may also produce extremely high energies. This is known to take place in solar flares, where they generate solar cosmic rays up to 10<sup>9</sup> to 10<sup>10</sup> eV."</ref> [[X-ray burster|X-ray bursts]] and [[gamma-ray burst]]s.<ref name="Alfven1986">{{cite journal
|last1=Alfvén |first1=H.
|title=Double layers and circuits in astrophysics
|journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
|volume=PS-14
|issue=6
|pages=779–793
|date=1986
 |bibcode=1986ITPS...14..779A|doi = 10.1109/TPS.1986.4316626 |s2cid=11866813
|url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/169085
|hdl=2060/19870005703
|hdl-access=free
}}</ref>

In 1993, theoretical cosmologist [[Jim Peebles]] criticized Alfvén–Klein cosmology, writing that "there is no way that the results can be consistent with the isotropy of the [[cosmic microwave background|cosmic microwave background radiation]] and [[X-ray background]]s".<ref name="Peebles1993">{{cite book
|last=Pebbles|first=P.J.E.
|title=Principles of Physical Cosmology
|publisher=Princeton University Press
|pages=207
|isbn=978-0-691-07428-3
|date=1993}}</ref>  In his book he also showed that Alfvén's models do not predict [[Hubble's law]], [[Big Bang nucleosynthesis|the abundance of light elements]], or the existence of the [[cosmic microwave background]]. A further difficulty with the ambiplasma model is that matter–antimatter [[annihilation]] results in the production of high energy [[photon]]s, which are not observed in the amounts predicted. While it is possible that the local "matter-dominated" cell is simply larger than the [[observable universe]], this proposition does not lend itself to observational tests.

== Plasma cosmology and the study of galaxies ==
Hannes Alfvén from the 1960s to 1980s argued that plasma played an important if not dominant role in the universe. He argued that [[electromagnetism|electromagnetic forces]] are far more important than [[gravity]] when acting on interplanetary and interstellar [[charged particle]]s.<ref>H. Alfvén and C.-G. Falthammar, ''Cosmic electrodynamics''(2nd edition, Clarendon press, Oxford, 1963). "The basic reason why electromagnetic phenomena are so important in cosmical physics is that there exist celestial magnetic fields which affect the motion of charged particles in space ... The strength of the interplanetary magnetic field is of the order of 10<sup>−4</sup> gauss (10 [[nanotesla]]s), which gives the [ratio of the magnetic force to the force of gravity] ≈ 10<sup>7</sup>. This illustrates the enormous importance of interplanetary and interstellar magnetic fields, compared with gravitation, as long as the matter is ionized." (p.2-3)</ref> He further hypothesized that they might promote the contraction of [[interstellar cloud]]s and may even constitute the main mechanism for contraction, initiating [[star formation]].<ref name="Alfven1978" >{{cite journal | last1 = Alfvén | first1 = H. | last2 = Carlqvist | first2 = P. | year = 1978 | title = Interstellar clouds and the formation of stars | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 55 | issue = 2| pages = 487–509 | bibcode=1978Ap&SS..55..487A|doi = 10.1007/BF00642272 | s2cid = 122687137 | url = https://cds.cern.ch/record/118596 }}</ref> The current standard view is that magnetic fields can hinder collapse, that large-scale [[Birkeland current]]s have not been observed, and that the length scale for charge neutrality is predicted to be far smaller than the relevant cosmological scales.<ref name="Siegel2006" >{{Cite journal |author= Siegel, E. R. |author2= Fry, J. N. |title= Can Electric Charges and Currents Survive in an Inhomogeneous Universe? |date= Sep 2006 |arxiv= astro-ph/0609031 |bibcode= 2006astro.ph..9031S }}</ref>

In the 1980s and 1990s, Alfvén and [[Anthony Peratt]], a plasma physicist at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], outlined a program they called the "plasma universe".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Alfvén | first1 = H. | year = 1986 | title = Model of the Plasma Universe | url = http://www.plasmauniverse.info/downloads/ModelOfTPU_Alfv%C3%A9n.pdf | journal = IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science | volume = PS-14 | issue =  6| pages = 629–638 | doi = 10.1109/tps.1986.4316614 | bibcode = 1986ITPS...14..629A | s2cid = 31617468 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="WI1">A. L. Peratt, ''Plasma Cosmology: Part I, Interpretations of a Visible Universe'',  World & I, vol. 8, pp. 294–301, August 1989. [http://www.plasmauniverse.info/downloads/PerattPlasmaCosmology1W&I.pdf]</ref><ref name="WI2">A. L. Peratt, ''Plasma Cosmology:Part II, The Universe is a Sea of Electrically Charged Particles'', World & I, vol. 9, pp. 306–317, September 1989 .[http://www.plasmauniverse.info/downloads/PerattPlasmaCosmology2W&I.pdf]</ref> In plasma universe proposals, various plasma physics phenomena were associated with astrophysical observations and were used to explain contemporary mysteries and problems outstanding in astrophysics in the 1980s and 1990s. In various venues, Peratt profiled what he characterized as an alternative viewpoint to the mainstream models applied in astrophysics and cosmology.<ref name=WI1 /><ref name=WI2 /><ref name=ST>{{Cite web|url=http://www.plasmauniverse.info/downloads/CosmologyPeratt.pdf|title=A.L. Peratt, ''Plasma Cosmology,'' Sky & Tel. Feb. 1992}}</ref><ref name=Peratt />

For example, Peratt proposed that the mainstream approach to galactic dynamics which relied on gravitational modeling of stars and gas in galaxies with the addition of dark matter was overlooking a possibly major contribution from plasma physics. He mentions laboratory experiments of [[Winston H. Bostick]] in the 1950s that created plasma discharges that looked like galaxies.<ref name="Peratt1986b">{{cite journal |author=A. Peratt |title=Evolution of the plasma universe. I – Double radio galaxies, quasars, and extragalactic jets |journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science |issn=0093-3813 |volume=PS-14 |issue=6 |pages=639–660 |date=1986 |url=http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloadsCosmo/Peratt86TPS-I.pdf |bibcode = 1986ITPS...14..639P |doi = 10.1109/TPS.1986.4316615 |s2cid=30767626 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bostick | first1 = W. H. | year = 1986 | title = What laboratory-produced plasma structures can contribute to the understanding of cosmic structures both large and small | journal = IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science | volume = PS-14 | issue = 6| pages = 703–717 | bibcode=1986ITPS...14..703B|doi = 10.1109/TPS.1986.4316621 | s2cid = 25575722 }}</ref> Perrat conducted computer simulations of colliding plasma clouds that he reported also mimicked the shape of galaxies.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=AL Peratt |author2=J Green |author3=D Nielson |title=Evolution of Colliding Plasmas |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=44 |issue=26 |date=20 June 1980 |pages=1767–1770|bibcode = 1980PhRvL..44.1767P |doi = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.44.1767 }}</ref> Peratt proposed that galaxies formed due to plasma filaments joining in a [[z-pinch]], the filaments starting 300,000 light years apart and carrying [[Birkeland current]]s of 10<sup>18</sup> amperes.<ref name="Lerner" /><ref name="Peratt1983">{{cite journal |author1=AL Peratt |author2=J Green |title=On the Evolution of Interacting, Magnetized, Galactic Plasmas |journal=Astrophysics and Space Science |volume=91 |issue=1 |date=1983 |pages=19–33|bibcode = 1983Ap&SS..91...19P |doi = 10.1007/BF00650210 |s2cid=121524786 }}</ref> Peratt also reported simulations he did showing emerging jets of material from the central buffer region that he compared to [[quasars]] and [[active galactic nucleus|active galactic nuclei]] occurring without [[supermassive black hole]]s. Peratt proposed a sequence for [[galaxy evolution]]: "the transition of double [[radio galaxy|radio galaxies]] to [[quasar|radioquasars]] to radioquiet QSO's to peculiar and [[Seyfert galaxy|Seyfert galaxies]], finally ending in [[spiral galaxy|spiral galaxies]]".<ref name="Peratt1986">{{cite journal |author=A. Peratt 
|title=Evolution of the Plasma Universe: II. The Formation of Systems of Galaxies |journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science |issn=0093-3813 |volume=PS-14 |issue=6 |pages=763–778 |date=1986 |url=http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloadsCosmo/Peratt86TPS-II.pdf|bibcode = 1986ITPS...14..763P |doi = 10.1109/TPS.1986.4316625 |s2cid=25091690 }}</ref> He also reported that flat [[galaxy rotation curves]] were simulated without [[dark matter]].<ref name= "Lerner">{{cite book
|author=E. J. Lerner
|title=The Big Bang Never Happened
|publisher=Random House
|location=New York and Toronto
|date=1991
|isbn=978-0-8129-1853-3
|url=https://archive.org/details/bigbangneverhapp00lern
}}</ref> At the same time [[Eric Lerner]], an independent plasma researcher and supporter of Peratt's ideas, proposed a plasma model for quasars based on a [[dense plasma focus]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=E.J. Lerner |title=Magnetic Self‑Compression in Laboratory Plasma, Quasars and Radio Galaxies |journal=Laser and Particle Beams |volume=4 part 2 |issue=2 |date=1986 |pages=193‑222 |bibcode = 1986LPB.....4..193L |doi = 10.1017/S0263034600001750 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Comparison with mainstream astrophysics==
Standard astronomical modeling and theories attempt to incorporate all known [[physics]] into descriptions and explanations of observed phenomena, with [[Gravitation|gravity]] playing a dominant role on the largest scales as well as in [[celestial mechanics]] and [[Stellar dynamics|dynamics]]. To that end, both [[Keplerian]] orbits and [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[general relativity|General Theory of Relativity]] are generally used as the underlying frameworks for modeling astrophysical systems and [[structure formation]], while [[high-energy astronomy]] and [[particle physics in cosmology]] additionally appeal to [[electromagnetism|electromagnetic]] processes including plasma physics and [[radiative transfer]] to explain relatively small scale energetic processes observed in the [[x-ray]]s and [[gamma ray]]s. Due to overall [[charge neutrality]], [[plasma (physics)|plasma physics]] does not provide for very long-range interactions in astrophysics even while much of the matter in the universe is [[plasma (physics)|plasma]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJ08AAAAIAAJ|title=Accretion Power in Astrophysics|last1=Frank|first1=Juhan|last2=Frank|first2=Carlos|last3=Frank|first3=J. R.|last4=King|first4=A. R.|last5=Raine|first5=Derek J.|date=1985-04-18|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=9780521245302|language=en|page=25}}</ref> (See [[astrophysical plasma]] for more.)

Proponents of plasma cosmology claim electrodynamics is as important as gravity in explaining the structure of the universe, and speculate that it provides an alternative explanation for the [[galaxy formation and evolution|evolution of galaxies]]<ref name=Peratt1986 /> and the initial collapse of interstellar clouds.<ref name=Alfven1978 /> In particular plasma cosmology is claimed to provide an alternative explanation for the flat [[galaxy rotation curve|rotation curves]] of spiral galaxies and to do away with the need for [[dark matter]] in galaxies and with the need for [[supermassive black hole]]s in galaxy centres to power [[quasar]]s and [[active galactic nucleus|active galactic nuclei]].<ref name="Peratt1983"/><ref name=Peratt1986 /> However, theoretical analysis shows that "many scenarios for the generation of seed magnetic fields, which rely on the survival and sustainability of currents at early times [of the universe are disfavored]",<ref name=Siegel2006 /> i.e. Birkeland currents of the magnitude needed (10<sup>18</sup> amps over scales of megaparsecs) for galaxy formation do not exist.<ref name="Colafrancesco2006" >{{cite journal | last1 = Colafrancesco | first1 = S. | last2 = Giordano | first2 = F. | year = 2006 | title = The impact of magnetic field on the cluster M – T relation | journal = Astronomy and Astrophysics | volume = 454 | issue = 3| pages = L131–134 | bibcode=2006A&A...454L.131C | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20065404|arxiv = astro-ph/0701852 | s2cid = 1477289 }} recount: "Numerical simulations have shown that the wide-scale magnetic fields in massive clusters produce variations of the cluster mass at the level of ~ 5 − 10% of their unmagnetized value ... Such variations are not expected to produce strong variations in the relative [mass-temperature] relation for massive clusters."</ref> Additionally, many of the issues that were mysterious in the 1980s and 1990s, including discrepancies relating to the [[cosmic microwave background]] and the nature of [[quasar]]s, have been solved with more evidence that, in detail, provides a distance and time scale for the universe.

Some of the places where plasma cosmology supporters are most at odds with standard explanations include the need for their models to have light element production without [[Big Bang nucleosynthesis]], which, in the context of Alfvén–Klein cosmology, has been shown to produce excessive [[X-ray]]s and [[gamma ray]]s beyond that observed.<ref>{{cite journal | year = 1985 | title = Big Bang Photosynthesis and Pregalactic Nucleosynthesis of Light Elements | journal = Astrophysical Journal | volume = 293 | pages = L53–L57 | bibcode=1985ApJ...293L..53A|doi = 10.1086/184490 | last1 = Audouze | first1 = J. | last2 = Lindley | first2 = D. | last3 = Silk | first3 = J. }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Epstein | display-authors = etal   | year = 1976 | title = The origin of deuterium | doi = 10.1038/263198a0 | journal = Nature | volume = 263 | issue = 5574   | pages = 198–202|bibcode = 1976Natur.263..198E | s2cid = 4213710 }} point out that if proton fluxes with energies greater than 500 MeV were intense enough to produce the observed levels of deuterium, they would also produce about 1000 times more gamma rays than are observed.</ref> Plasma cosmology proponents have made further proposals to explain light element abundances, but the attendant issues have not been fully addressed.<ref>Ref. 10 in "Galactic Model of Element Formation" (Lerner, ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' Vol. 17, No. 2, April 1989 [http://www.health-freedom.info/pdf/Galactic%20Model%20of%20Element%20Formation.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229074857/http://www.health-freedom.info/pdf/Galactic%20Model%20of%20Element%20Formation.pdf|date=2006-12-29}}) is J.Audouze and J.Silk, "Pregalactic Synthesis of Deuterium" in ''Proc. ESO Workshop on "Primordial Helium"'', 1983, pp. 71–75 [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983prhe.work...71A] Lerner includes a paragraph on "Gamma Rays from D Production" in which he claims that the expected gamma ray level is consistent with the observations. He cites neither Audouze nor Epstein in this context, and does not explain why his result contradicts theirs.</ref> In 1995 Eric Lerner published his alternative explanation for the [[cosmic microwave background|cosmic microwave background radiation]] (CMBR).<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lerner | first1 = Eric | date = 1995 | title = Intergalactic Radio Absorption and the COBE Data | url = http://www.photonmatrix.com/pdf/Intergalactic%20Radio%20Absorption%20And%20The%20COBE%20Data.pdf | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 227 | issue =  1–2| pages = 61–81 | doi = 10.1007/bf00678067 | bibcode = 1995Ap&SS.227...61L | s2cid = 121500864 | access-date = 2012-05-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110715083205/http://www.photonmatrix.com/pdf/Intergalactic%20Radio%20Absorption%20And%20The%20COBE%20Data.pdf | archive-date = 2011-07-15 | url-status = dead }}</ref> He argued that his model explained the fidelity of the CMB spectrum to that of a black body and the low level of anisotropies found, even while the level of isotropy at 1:10<sup>5</sup> is not accounted for to that precision by any alternative models. Additionally, the sensitivity and resolution of the measurement of the CMB anisotropies was greatly advanced by [[Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe|WMAP]] and the [[Planck (spacecraft)|Planck satellite]] and the statistics of the signal were so in line with the predictions of the Big Bang model, that the CMB has been heralded as a major confirmation of the Big Bang model to the detriment of alternatives.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Spergel | first1 = D. N. | display-authors = etal   | date = 2003 | title = (WMAP collaboration), "First year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: Determination of cosmological parameters | journal = Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series | volume = 148 | issue = 1| pages = 175–194 | doi=10.1086/377226|arxiv = astro-ph/0302209 |bibcode = 2003ApJS..148..175S | s2cid = 10794058 }}</ref> The [[Cosmic microwave background#Primary anisotropy|acoustic peaks]] in the early universe are fit with high accuracy by the predictions of the Big Bang model, and, to date, there has never been an attempt to explain the detailed spectrum of the anisotropies within the framework of plasma cosmology or any other alternative cosmological model.

==References and notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}

==Further reading==
* [[Alfvén, Hannes]]:
:* "''Cosmic Plasma''" (Reidel, 1981) {{ISBN|90-277-1151-8}}
:* {{cite journal | last1 = Alfvén | first1 = Hannes | date = 1983 | title = On hierarchical cosmology | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 89 | issue = 2| pages = 313–324 | bibcode = 1983Ap&SS..89..313A|doi=10.1007/bf00655984 | s2cid = 122396373 }}
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1988LPB.....6..389A&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=45cce9d73311457 "Cosmology in the plasma universe"], ''Laser and Particle Beams'' ({{ISSN|0263-0346}}), vol. 6, August 1988, pp. 389–398 [http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloads/CosmologyAlfven.pdf Full text]
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1986ITPS...14..629A&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=45cce9d73311457 "Model of the plasma universe"], ''[[IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science]]'' ({{ISSN|0093-3813}}), vol. PS-14, December 1986, pp. 629–638 [http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloads/ModelOfTPU_Alfv%8En.pdf Full text] (PDF)
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1986PhT....39i..22A&db_key=AST&data_type=HTML&format=&high=45cce9d73312115 "The Plasma Universe"], ''[[Physics Today]]'' ({{ISSN|0031-9228}}), vol. 39, issue 9, September 1986, pp. 22 – 27

* [[Peratt, Anthony]]:
:* "''Physics of the Plasma Universe''", (Springer, 1992) {{ISBN|0-387-97575-6}}
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1984S%26T....68..118P&db_key=AST&data_type=HTML&format=&high=45fffb02f208845 "Simulating spiral galaxies"], ''[[Sky and Telescope]]'' ({{ISSN|0037-6604}}), vol. 68, August 1984, pp. 118–122
:* "Are Black Holes Necessary?", ''Sky and Telescope'' ({{ISSN|0037-6604}}), vol. 66, July 1983, pp. 19–22
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1986ITPS...14..639P&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=45cce9d73311457 "Evolution of the plasma universe. I – Double radio galaxies, quasars, and extragalactic jets"], ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' ({{ISSN|0093-3813}}), vol. PS-14, December 1986, pp. 639–660 [http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloadsCosmo/Peratt86TPS-I.pdf Full text] (PDF)
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1986ITPS...14..763P&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=45cce9d73311457 "Evolution of the plasma universe. II – The formation of systems of galaxies"], ''IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science'' ({{ISSN|0093-3813}}), vol. PS-14, December 1986, pp. 763–778 [http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloadsCosmo/Peratt86TPS-II.pdf Full text] (PDF)
:* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1988LPB.....6..471P&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=45cce9d73312115 "The role of particle beams and electrical currents in the plasma universe"], ''Laser and Particle Beams'' ({{ISSN|0263-0346}}), vol. 6, August 1988, pp. 471–491 [http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloads/Peratt_RolePartBeams.pdf Full text] (PDF)
* [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]] journal ''[[IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society#Publications|Transactions on Plasma Science]]'': special issues on Space and Cosmic Plasma [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&db_key=PHY&sim_query=YES&ned_query=YES&aut_logic=OR&obj_logic=OR&author=&object=&start_mon=12&start_year=1986&end_mon=12&end_year=1986&ttl_logic=OR&title=&txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=100&start_nr=1&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=ITPS.&data_and=ALL&group_and=ALL&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&end_entry_day=&end_entry_mon=&end_entry_year=&min_score=&sort=SCORE&data_type=SHORT&aut_syn=YES&ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&obj_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1 1986], [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=1989&isnumber=928 1989], [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=1990&isnumber=1720 1990], [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=1992&isnumber=5186 1992], [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=2000&isnumber=19507 2000], [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=2003&isnumber=28301 2003], and [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=4287017 2007]
* [[Cambridge University Press]] journal ''Laser and Particle Beams'': Particle Beams and Basic Phenomena in the Plasma Universe, a Special Issue in Honor of the 80th Birthday of Hannes Alfvén, vol. 6, issue 3, August 1988 [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?decade=1980&jid=LPB&volumeId=6&issueId=03&iid=4334096 Laser and Particle Beams: Volume 6 - Issue 3 | Cambridge Core]
* Various authors: [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995Ap%26SS.227....3P "Introduction to Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology"], ''Astrophysics and Space Science'', v. 227 (1995) p.&nbsp;3–11. ''Proceedings of the Second IEEE International Workshop on Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology'', held from 10 to 12 May 1993 in Princeton, New Jersey

==External links==
* Wright, E. L. [http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/lerner_errors.html "Errors in ''The Big Bang Never Happened''"]. See also: Lerner, E. J. [https://www.lppfusion.com/science/cosmic-connection/plasma-cosmology/the-growing-case-against-the-big-bang/dr-wright-is-wrong-2003/ "''Dr. Wright is Wrong''"], Lerner's reply to the above.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasma Cosmology}}
[[Category:Physical cosmology]]
[[Category:Space plasmas]]
[[Category:Fringe physics]]