Abstract
It has been suggested1,4,5–7 that the Hubble expansion on large scales (∼50h−1 Mpc, where h is the Hubble constant in units of 100 km s−1 Mpc−1) is distorted by bulk matter flows of surprisingly large amplitude. Using Bayesian statistics of conditional probability, we show here that a high amplitude for large-scale matter flows can be used to rule out, at the 95% confidence level or better, both hot dark matter and cold dark matter models of the growth of structure in the Universe. No random-phase initial conditions with constant-curvature initial perturbations are likely to be consistent with bulk flows relative to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) exceeding 700 km s−1 on scales of 50h−1 Mpc. If the Universe is dominated by cold dark matter and galaxies are a biased mass tracer, then the bulk velocity on this scale should not exceed 150 km s−1.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rubin, V. C., Ford, W. K., Thonnard, N., Roberts, M. S. & Graham, J. A. Astr. J. 81, 687–737 (1976).
Fall, S. M. & Jones, B. J. T. Nature 262, 457–470 (1976).
Tammann, G., Yahil, A. & Sandage, A. Astrophys. J. 234, 775–784 (1979).
Schechter, P. L. Astr. J. 82, 569–576 (1977).
Peterson, C. J. & Baumgart, C. W. Astr. J. 91, 530–538 (1986).
Collins, A., Joseph, R. D. & Robertson, N. A. Nature 320, 506–508 (1986).
Burstein, D. et al. Galaxy Distances and Deviations from Universal Expansion (eds Madore, B. F. & Tully, R. B.) (NATO, Brussels, 1986).
Aaronson, M. et al. Astrophys. J. 302, 536–563 (1986).
Peebles, P. J. E. The Large Scale Structure of the Universe (Princeton University Press, 1980).
Clutton-Brock, M. & Peebles, P. J. E. Astr. J. 86, 1115–1119 (1981).
Kaiser, B. Astrophys. J. 273, L17–L20 (1983).
Vittorio, N. & Silk, J. Astrophys. J. 293, L1–L4 (1985).
Bardeen, J. M., Bond, J. R., Kaiser, N. & Szalay, A. S. Astrophys. J. 304, 15–61 (1986).
Sandage, A. Astrophys. J. (in the press).
Lubin, P., & Villela, T. Galaxy Distances and Deviations from Universal Expansion (eds Madore, B. F. & Tully, R. B. (NATO, Brussels, 1986).
Davis, M., Efstathiou, G., Frenk, C. & White, S. Astrophys. J. 292, 371–394 (1985).
Bond, J. R. Galaxy Distances and Deviations from Universal Expansion (eds Madore, B. F. & Tully, R. B.) (NATO, Brussels, 1986).
Vittorio, N. & Turner, M., Preprint Univ California, Berkeley (1986).
Brandenberger, R. H. Rev. mod. Phys. 57, 1–60 (1985).
Peebles, P. J. E. Astrophys. J. 274, 1–6 (1983).
Zel'dovich, Ya. B. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 192, 663–666 (1980).
Vilenkin, A. Phys. Rep. 121, 263–315 (1985).
Chincarini, G. & Rood, H. Astrophys. J. 230, 648–654 (1979).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vittorio, N., Juszkiewicz, R. & Davis, M. Large-scale velocity fields as a test of cosmological models. Nature 323, 132–133 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323132a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323132a0
This article is cited by
-
Large-scale structure in the Universe
Nature (1991)
-
A supercluster of IRAS galaxies behind the Great Attractor
Nature (1990)
-
Stringing along the galaxies
Nature (1988)
-
Probes of large-scale structure in the Universe
Nature (1988)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
