Second Friedmann (acceleration) equation
Statement
Under the same hypotheses, if in addition the density and pressure obey the fluid (continuity) equation , then .
Why is it true?
Unlike Newtonian gravity, in general relativity pressure itself gravitates alongside energy density — a subtle effect invisible in the first Friedmann equation, which only involves . The acceleration equation reveals this: ordinary matter and radiation, having positive pressure, always decelerate the expansion via the term, while something with sufically negative pressure, , flips the sign and drives — cosmic acceleration, exactly what dark energy (modeled here by ) does.
Proof sketch
Start from the first Friedmann equation in the form and differentiate both sides with respect to : .
Divide every term by (valid whenever ): .
Now eliminate using the fluid equation , rearranged as . Substituting: .
This is exactly , as claimed. Notice the fluid equation itself is nothing more than the first law of thermodynamics applied to an expanding comoving volume: energy inside a comoving patch changes only because the pressure does work as the patch's volume grows.
Topics that use this theorem
Step-by-step proofs
No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.
References
- John A. Peacock (1999). Cosmological Physics
- Scott Dodelson, Fabian Schmidt (2020). Modern Cosmology
- DESI Collaboration (2024). DESI 2024 VI: cosmological constraints from the measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations
- NASA/JPL Cosmology Group (2024). Hubble Tension