Are we a new generation of flat-Earthers?

Is today's cosmology run by a new generation of flat Earthers? The
so-called "accelerating expansion" of the universe is entirely
dependent on a flat-universe (Euclidean) model, and researchers are at
pains to use the recent WMAP CMB data to claim a flat universe. But
their claims may be wrong, as were the claims of the flat-Earthers,
long ago. As an example, see the recent paper astro-ph/0605135 which
shows that the CMB has a significant solar-system-related dipole --
the implication is that the CMB is not the universal-birth artifact
that is currently believed, in which case the flat-universe model has
no great observational support. Similar to the expired notion that the
universe was at critical density (Omega-m=1.00), the belief that the
universe is flat is also likely to expire.

Why does this matter? Because when the flat universe is replaced by a
hyperbolic (open) universe, the current observations are fully
accomodated without any need for accelerated expansion. The relevant
observation is that "nearby" (z0.5) objects are found to be fainter
than expected, therefore they are further away, thus "expansion" has
"accelerated". But in a hyperbolic universe, the "shells of space" at
distance R are larger than the standard 4piR², and so objects there
look smaller and fainter than in a flat universe. The two tweakable
parameters in this model are the degree of hyperbolicity and the
radius of a spatial-5D spherical universe which contains the
hyperbolic space; these can be combined to match the observations
elegantly, without need of accelerated expansion. Thus two large extra
dimensions are required, either spatial or a time-space composite.

It is common to find that working mathematical models do have
corresponding physical phenomena. Hyperbolic and spherical manifolds
should have real physical counterparts. By tweaking the two large
dimesnions, one hyperbolic (open) and the other spherical (closed), we
can produce a universal model which yields fainter close-up objects,
and diminishing numbers at greater distances, including a crossover
point where the spherical space begins to dominate over the
hyperbolic. This describes the current state of observations entirely
well.

Therefore the current supernova observations can be said to be
supporting a universal geometry, and not a universal expansion. It
just depends what you choose to emphasize.

Critiques welcome.

Eric Flesch