Abstract
RECENT astrophysical observations1,2 have raised doubts as to whether the large redshifts of distant galaxies (the Hubble redshift) are due entirely to cosmological expansion. The strongest argument3 in favour of cosmological expansion is that there is no known hypothesis consistent with the laws of physics (other than the Doppler shift hypothesis) that can explain the observed redshifts. An alternative explanation—a gradual energy loss of photons due to their interaction with curved space-time—is considered here. The basic premise is that because photons have a finite spread they are subject to tidal stresses and that this provides a mechanism for the transfer of momentum from the photon to the mass producing curved space-time. Any transfer of momentum without an equivalent transfer of energy will destroy the concept of the photon as a single elementary particle. It is therefore postulated that the interaction of the photon with curved space-time causes it to lose energy in the form of very low energy secondary photons. As well as providing an explanation for the Hubble redshift this hypothesis can also explain the solar limb effect, that is, the increasing redshift of solar spectral lines as the viewpoint approaches the limb of the Sun.
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CRAWFORD, D. Photon decay in curved space-time. Nature 277, 633–635 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/277633a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/277633a0
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