Gravitational Energy as Dark Energy: Concordance of Cosmological Tests

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Abstract
We provide preliminary quantitative evidence that a new solution to averaging the observed inhomogeneous structure of matter in the universe may lead to an observationally viable cosmology without exotic dark energy. We find parameters which simultaneously satisfy three independent tests: the match to the angular scale of the sound horizon detected in the cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectrum; the effective comoving baryon acoustic oscillation scale detected in galaxy clustering statistics; and Type Ia supernova luminosity distances. Independently of the supernova data, concordance is obtained for a value of the Hubble constant which agrees with the measurement of the Hubble Key team of Sandage and coworkers. Best-fit parameters include a global average Hubble constant H0 = 61.7−1.1+1.2 km s−1 Mpc−1, a present epoch void volume fraction of fv 0 = 0.76−0.09+0.12, and an age of the universe of 14.7−0.5+0.7 billion years as measured by observers in galaxies. The mass ratio of nonbaryonic dark matter to baryonic matter is 3.1−2.4+2.5, computed with a baryon-to-photon ratio that is in concordance with primordial lithium abundances.