Том 60, № 6 (2016)

A step-by-step foundation for the differential character of the Universe’s rotation is presented. First, invoking the concept of spacetime foam with spin, it is reasonable to assume that the very early Universe can be described by the Dirac equation. Second, it is shown using the Ehrenfest theorem that, from a classical point of view, the early Universe can be described by the Papapetrou equations. Third, it is stressed that our Universe can perform only rotational motion. It is shown based on the spin part of the Papapetrou equations that the Universe’s rotation depends appreciably on the physical properties of a specific cosmological epoch. The rotational angular velocity is calculated for three basic cosmological epochs: the matter-dominated epoch, the transition period (from domination of matter to domination of vacuum), and the vacuum-dominated epoch.

New arguments supporting the reality of large-scale fluctuations in the density of the visible matter in deep galaxy surveys are presented. A statistical analysis of the radial distributions of galaxies in the COSMOS and HDF-N deep fields is presented. Independent spectral and photometric surveys exist for each field, carried out in different wavelength ranges and using different observing methods. Catalogs of photometric redshifts in the optical (COSMOS-Zphot) and infrared (UltraVISTA) were used for the COSMOS field in the redshift interval 0.1 < z < 3.5, as well as the zCOSMOS (10kZ) spectroscopic survey and the XMM-COSMOS and ALHAMBRA-F4 photometric redshift surveys. The HDFN-Zphot and ALHAMBRA-F5 catalogs of photometric redshifts were used for the HDF-N field. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the fluctuations in the numbers of galaxies obtained for independent surveys of the same deep field reaches R = 0.70 ± 0.16. The presence of this positive correlation supports the reality of fluctuations in the density of visible matter with sizes of up to 1000 Mpc and amplitudes of up to 20% at redshifts z ~ 2. The absence of correlations between the fluctuations in different fields (the correlation coefficient between COSMOS and HDF-N is R = −0.20 ± 0.31) testifies to the independence of structures visible in different directions on the celestial sphere. This also indicates an absence of any influence from universal systematic errors (such as “spectral voids”), which could imitate the detection of correlated structures.

The reverse positron current flowing through the inner gap of an old radio pulsar in the presence of a small-scale magnetic field is found. Computations for the case of both strong and weak screening of the longitudinal electric field by the electron–positron plasma are presented.

One means of countering a hazardous asteroid is discussed: destruction of the object using a nuclear charge. Explosion of such an asteroid shortly before its predicted collision would have catastrophic consequences, with numerous highly radioactive fragments falling onto the Earth. The possibility of exploding the asteroid several years before its impact is also considered. Such an approach is made feasible because the vast majority of hazardous objects pass by the Earth several times before colliding with it. Computations show that, in the 10 years following the explosion, only a negligible number of fragments fall onto the Earth, whose radioactivity has substantially reduced during this time. In most cases, none of these fragments collides with the Earth. Thus, this proposed method for eliminating a threat from space is reasonable in at least two cases: when it is not possible to undergo a soft removal of the object from the collisional path, and to destroy objects that are continually returning to near-Earth space and require multiple removals from hazardous orbits.