Abstract
Title: "Can the observed cosmic acceleration be a consequence of cosmic
inhomogeneities?"
Abstract:It is widely believed that the observed cosmic acceleration is being
caused by a `dark energy'. This conclusion has been drawn
from observations under the assumption that we live in a strictly
homogeneous Universe. However, as we know, the Universe is highly
inhomogeneous on smaller scales, and it is homogeneous only when
the actual matter distribution is averaged over sufficiently large scales.
This process of averaging induces an effective modification of Einstein
equations on cosmological scales, and these modifying terms
could in principle be responsible for the observed acceleration, thereby
eliminating the need for a dark energy. In this talk, we will review the
current status of the ongoing research on this idea.