Dark Matter and Cosmology: CDM with a Cosmological Constant ($\Lambda$CDM) vs. CDM with Hot Dark Matter (CHDM)

Abstract

Here we discuss what are perhaps the two most popular variants of CDM that might agree with the data: \lcdm\ and CHDM. While the predictions of COBE-normalized \lcdm\ and CHDM both agree well with the available data on scales of $\sim 10$ to $100 \hMpc$, each has potential virtues and defects. \lcdm\ with $\Omega_0 \sim 0.3$ has the possible virtue of allowing a higher expansion rate $H_0$ for a given cosmic age $t_0$, but the defect of predicting too much fluctuation power on small scales. CHDM has less power on small scales, so its predictions appear to be in good agreement with data on the galaxy distribution, but it remains to be seen whether it predicts early enough galaxy formation to be compatible with the latest high-redshift data. Also, two very recent observational results favor high cosmic density, and thus favor $\Omega=1$ models such as CHDM over \lcdm\ --- (1) the positive deceleration parameter $q_0>0$ measured using high-redshift Type Ia supernovae, and (2) the low primordial deuterium/hydrogen ratio measured in two different quasar absorption spectra. We try to identify ``best'' variants of both \lcdm\ and CHDM, and discuss critical observational tests for both models.