Can Plasma Scattering Mimic a Cosmological Red-Shift?

Abstract

We investigate the extent to which the scattering of light from plasma fluctuations can mimic a cosmological red-shift, as has been suggested by Wolf et al. A plasma model for the plasma structure function results in a spectrum of scattered light very different from that associated with a constant red-shift, implying that the "Wolf effect" cannot be involved to perturb the cosmological distance scale.