Cosmological Models and the Brightness Profile of Distant Galaxies

Abstract

The aim of this project is to determine the consistency of an assumed cosmological model by means of a detailed analysis of the brightness profiles of distant galaxies.Starting from the theory developed by Ellis and Perry (1979) connecting the angular diameter distance obtained from a relativistic cosmological model and the detailed photometry of galaxies, we assume the presently most accepted cosmological model with non-zero cosmological constant and attempt to predict the brightness profiles of galaxies of a given redshift. Then this theoretical profile can be compared to observational data already available for distant, that is, high redshift, galaxies. By comparing these two curves we may reach conclusions about the observational feasibility of the underlying cosmological model.