An Open Letter to the Scientific Community

An Open Letter to the Scientific Community
cosmologystatement.org

(Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004)

The big bang today relies on a growing number of hypothetical entities, things that we have never observed-- inflation, dark matter and dark energy are the most prominent examples. Without them, there would be a fatal contradiction between the observations made by astronomers and the predictions of the big bang theory. In no other field of physics would this continual recourse to new hypothetical objects be accepted as a way of bridging the gap between theory and observation. It would, at the least, raise serious questions about the validity of the underlying theory.

But the big bang theory can't survive without these fudge factors. Without the hypothetical inflation field, the big bang does not predict the smooth, isotropic cosmic background radiation that is observed, because there would be no way for parts of the universe that are now more than a few degrees away in the sky to come to the same temperature and thus emit the same amount of microwave radiation.

Without some kind of dark matter, unlike any that we have observed on Earth despite 20 years of experiments, big-bang theory makes contradictory predictions for the density of matter in the universe. Inflation requires a density 20 times larger than that implied by big bang nucleosynthesis, the theory's explanation of the origin of the light elements. And without dark energy, the theory predicts that the universe is only about 8 billion years old, which is billions of years younger than the age of many stars in our galaxy.

What is more, the big bang theory can boast of no quantitative predictions that have subsequently been validated by observation. The successes claimed by the theory's supporters consist of its ability to retrospectively fit observations with a steadily increasing array of adjustable parameters, just as the old Earth-centered cosmology of Ptolemy needed layer upon layer of epicycles.

Yet the big bang is not the only framework available for understanding the history of the universe. Plasma cosmology and the steady-state model both hypothesize an evolving universe without beginning or end. These and other alternative approaches can also explain the basic phenomena of the cosmos, including the abundances of light elements, the generation of large-scale structure, the cosmic background radiation, and how the redshift of far-away galaxies increases with distance. They have even predicted new phenomena that were subsequently observed, something the big bang has failed to do.

Supporters of the big bang theory may retort that these theories do not explain every cosmological observation. But that is scarcely surprising, as their development has been severely hampered by a complete lack of funding. Indeed, such questions and alternatives cannot even now be freely discussed and examined. An open exchange of ideas is lacking in most mainstream conferences. Whereas Richard Feynman could say that "science is the culture of doubt", in cosmology today doubt and dissent are not tolerated, and young scientists learn to remain silent if they have something negative to say about the standard big bang model. Those who doubt the big bang fear that saying so will cost them their funding.

Even observations are now interpreted through this biased filter, judged right or wrong depending on whether or not they support the big bang. So discordant data on red shifts, lithium and helium abundances, and galaxy distribution, among other topics, are ignored or ridiculed. This reflects a growing dogmatic mindset that is alien to the spirit of free scientific inquiry.

Today, virtually all financial and experimental resources in cosmology are devoted to big bang studies. Funding comes from only a few sources, and all the peer-review committees that control them are dominated by supporters of the big bang. As a result, the dominance of the big bang within the field has become self-sustaining, irrespective of the scientific validity of the theory.

Giving support only to projects within the big bang framework undermines a fundamental element of the scientific method -- the constant testing of theory against observation. Such a restriction makes unbiased discussion and research impossible. To redress this, we urge those agencies that fund work in cosmology to set aside a significant fraction of their funding for investigations into alternative theories and observational contradictions of the big bang. To avoid bias, the peer review committee that allocates such funds could be composed of astronomers and physicists from outside the field of cosmology.

Allocating funding to investigations into the big bang's validity, and its alternatives, would allow the scientific process to determine our most accurate model of the history of the universe.

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Original Signers | Scientists and Engineers | Independent Researchers | Other Signers

Signed:
(Institutions for identification only)
Highlighted names are linked to related web pages

Halton Arp, Max-Planck-Institute Fur Astrophysik (Germany) Andre Koch Torres Assis, State University of Campinas (Brazil) Yuri Baryshev, Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University (Russia) Ari Brynjolfsson, Applied Radiation Industries (USA) Hermann Bondi, Churchill College, University of Cambridge (UK) Timothy Eastman, Plasmas International (USA) Chuck Gallo, Superconix, Inc.(USA) Thomas Gold, Cornell University (emeritus) (USA) Amitabha Ghosh, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India) Walter J. Heikkila, University of Texas at Dallas (USA) .................................................	10
Michael Ibison, Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin (USA) Thomas Jarboe, University of Washington (USA) Jerry W. Jensen, ATK Propulsion (USA) Menas Kafatos, George Mason University (USA) Eric J. Lerner, Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (USA) Paul Marmet, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (retired) (Canada) Paola Marziani, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (Italy) Gregory Meholic, The Aerospace Corporation (USA) Jacques Moret-Bailly, Université Dijon (retired) (France) Jayant Narlikar, IUCAA(emeritus) and College de France (India, France) ........................	20
Marcos Cesar Danhoni Neves, State University of Maringá (Brazil) Charles D. Orth, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA) R. David Pace, Lyon College (USA) Georges Paturel, Observatoire de Lyon (France) Jean-Claude Pecker, College de France (France) Anthony L. Peratt, Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) Bill Peter, BAE Systems Advanced Technologies (USA) David Roscoe, Sheffield University (UK) Malabika Roy, George Mason University (USA) Sisir Roy, George Mason University (USA) ....................................................................	30
Konrad Rudnicki, Jagiellonian University (Poland) Domingos S.L. Soares, Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) John L. West, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (USA) James F. Woodward, California State University, Fullerton (USA)

New signers of the Open letter since publication

Scientists and Engineers

Jorge Marao Universidade Estadual de Londrina Brazi Martin John Baker, Loretto School Musselburgh, UK Peter J Carroll, Psychonaut Institute, UK Roger Y. Gouin, Ecole Superieure d'Electricite, France John Murray, Sunyata Composite Ltd, UK Jonathan Chambers, University of Sheffield, UK .................................................................	40
Michel A. Duguay, Laval University, Canada Qi Pan, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK Fred Rost, University of NSW (Emeritus), Australia Louis Hissink, Consulting Geologist, Australia Hetu Sheth, Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India Lassi Hyvärinen, IBM(Ret), France Max Whisson, University of Melbourne, Australia R.S.Griffiths, CADAS, UK Adolf Muenker, Brane Industries, USA Emre Isik Akdeniz University Turkey ..................................	50
Felipe de Oliveira Alves, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud, Service d'Astrophysique, CEA, France Kim George, Curtin University of Technology, Australia Tom Van Flandern, Meta Research, USA Doneley Watson, IBM (ret.), USA Fred Alan Wolf, Have Brains / Will Travel, USA Robert Wood, IEEE, Canada D. W. Harris, L-3 Communications, USA Eugene Sittampalam, Engineering consultant, Sri Lanka Joseph.B. Krieger, Brooklyn College, CUNY, USA ............................................................	60
Pablo Vasquez, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA Peter F. Richiuso, NASA, KSC, USA Roger A. Rydin, University of Virginia (Emeritus), USA Stefan Rydstrom, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Sylvan J. Hotch, The MITRE Corporation (Retired), USA Thomas R. Love, CSU Dominguez Hills, USA Andrew Coles, Embedded Systems, USA Eit Gaastra, infinite universe researcher, The Netherlands Franco Selleri, Università di Bari, Dipartimento di Fisica, Italy Gerald Pease, The Aerospace Corporation, USA ..............................................................	70
S.N. Arteha, Space Research Institute, Russia Miroslaw Kozlowski, Warsaw University (emeritus), Poland John Hartnett, School of Physics, University of Western Australia, Australia Robert Zubrin, Pioneer Astronautics, USA Tibor Gasparik, SUNY at Stony Brook, USA Alexandre Losev, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria Henry Hall, University of Manchester, UK José da Silva, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil Markus Rohner, Griesser AG, Switzerland William C. Mitchell, Institute for Advanced Cosmological Studies, USA .............................	80
Aurea Garcia-Rissmann, UFSC, Brazil Cristian R. Ghezzi, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil Daniel Nicolato Epitácio Pereira, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Gregory M. Salyards, US Naval Sea Systems Command (ret.), USA Luiz Carlos Barbosa, Unicamp, Brazil Luiz Carlos Jafelice, Federal University of the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil Michael Sosteric, Athabasca University, Canada Steven Langley Guy, University of Elizabeth (Physics Department), Australia Robert Fritzius, Shade Tree Physics, USA Irineu Gomes Varella, Escola Municipal de Astrofísica, Brazil ...............................................	90
Tom Walther, Southern Cross University Australia , Australia Mauro Cosentino, University of São Paulo, Brazil Moacir Lacerda, Univeersidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil Roberto Assumpcao, PUC Minas, Brazil Roberto Lopes Parra, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Ronaldo Junio Camppos Batista, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil Ermenegildo Caccese, University of Basilicata, Italy Felipe Sofia Zanuzzo, Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil Edival de Morais, Sociedade Brasileira de Física, Brazil Graham Coupe, KAZ Technology Services, Australia .......................................................	100
Gordon Petrie, High Altitude Observatory, NCAR, USA, Jose B. Almeida, University of Minho, Portugal, Antonio Cleiton, Laboratório de Sistemas Complexos - UFPI, Brazil Sergey Karpov, L.V.Kirensky Institute of Physics Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia Wagner Patrick Junqueira de Souza Coelho Nicácio, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil Sokolov Vladimir, Special Astrophysical Observatory of RAS, Russia Edwin G. Schasteen, TAP-TEN Research Foundation International, USA Gerry Zeitlin, openseti.org, USA Henry H. Bauer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA Yasha Fard,H.R. Cosmology Institute, Canada ..................................................................	110
Roberto Caimmi, Astronomy Department, Padua University, Italy Tobias Keller, ETH (SFIT) Zurich, Earth Sciences, Switzerland, Deborah Foch, Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, USA, Henry Reynolds, UC Santa Cruz, USA, Paramahamsa Tewari, Nuclear Power Corporation (ret.),India Jouko Seppänen, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, Cristiane Ribeiro Bernardes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil Eric Blievernicht. TRW, USA Dr. Robert Bennett, Kolbe Center, USA, Hilton Ratcliffe, Astronomical Society of South Africa, South Africa .......................................	120
Wieslaw Sztumski, Silesian University, Poland Lars Wåhlin,Colutron Research Corporation,USA Riccardo Scarpa, European Southern Observatory, Italy, Olivier Marco, European Southern Observatory, France Joseph Garcia, International Radiation Protection, Germany, Arkadiusz Jadczyk, International Institute of Mathematical Physics, Lithuania Jean de Pontcharra, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, France Gerardus D. Bouw, Baldwin-Wallace College, USA Josef Lutz, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany, Harold E. Puthoff, Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, USA. ..........................................	130
Hermann Dürkop, Nabla Systemberatung, Germany, Klaus Fischer, Universität Trier, Germany, Werner Holzmüller, University Leipzig, Germany Sol Aisenberg, International Technology Group, USA Richard Gancarczyk, University of Nottingham, UK Steve Humphry, Murdoch University, Australia Alberto Bolognesi, Università di Perugia, Italy Daniele Carosati, Armenzano Observatory, Italy Brendan Dean, H.R. Cosmology Institute, Canada W. Jim Jastrzebski, Warsaw University, Poland ..................................................	140
Gero Rupprecht, European Southern Observatory, Germany Rainer Herrmann TEWS-Elektronik Germany Felix Pharand University of Montreal Canada Jerry Bergman Northwest State University USA Tibor Gasparik SUNY at Stony Brook USA Rei Gunn University of Nantucket USA Sinan Alis Eyuboglu Twin Observatories Turkey Esat Rennan Pekünlü University of EGE Turkey Anne M. Hofmeister Washington U. USA Quentin Foreman IEEE New Zealand ....................................................................	150
Marc Berndl University of Toronto Canada Y. P. Varshni University of Ottawa Canada Robert Martinek McMaster University Canada Bob Criss Washington University USA Sol Aisenberg, International Technology Group, USA Paul LaViolette, The Starburst Foundation, U.S.A. Seetesh Pandé, Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon France TAHIR MAQSOOD, PSA, PAKISTAN Hartmut Traunmüller, University of Stockholm, Sweden .....................................................	160
Nico F. Benschop, Amspade Research, Netherlands Aaron Blake, USAF, USA M. Ross Fergus, University of Memphis, USA Sonu Bhaskar, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India Frederico V. F., Lima Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil Andrei Kirilyuk, Institute of Metal Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine Christian Jooss, Institut fuer Materialphysik, University of Goettingen, Germany Sonu Bhaskar, BCISR, India Robert O. Myers, ROM Technologies, USA Ana Cristina Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil .....................................	170
John Wey, Idaho National Laboratory, USA Jorge Francisco Maldonado Serrano, UIS, Colombia Pasquale Galianni, Dipartimento di Fisica Università di Lecce, Italy Martín López-Corredoira, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Spain Michael A. Ivanov, Belarus State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Belarus Xiao Jianhua , Shanghai Jiaotong University, China Pierre J. Beaujon, Hoornbeeck College, The Netherlands J.Georg von Brzeski Helios Labs. USA vidyardhi nanduri , Cosmology Research center , India Mike Rotch NBSA USA .......................................................	180