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Showing votes from 2016-12-27 11:30 to 2016-12-30 12:30 | Next meeting is Friday May 22nd, 11:30 am.
Astronomical observations reveal hierarchical structures in the Universe, from galaxies, groups of galaxies, cluster and superclusters, to filaments and voids. On the largest scales it seems that some kind of statistical homogeneity can be observed. As a result, modern cosmological models are based on homogeneous and isotropic solutions of the Einstein equations, and the evolution of the universe is approximated with the Friedmann equations. In parallel to standard homogeneous cosmology, the field of inhomogeneous cosmology and backreaction is being developed. This field investigates whether small scale inhomogeneities via non-linear effects can backreact and alter the properties of the Universe on its largest scales, leading to a non-Friedmannian evolution. This paper presents the current status of inhomogeneous cosmology and backreaction. It also discusses future prospects of the field of inhomogeneous cosmology, which is based on a survey of 50 academics working in the field of inhomogeneous cosmology.