The second-order luminosity-redshift relation in a generic inhomogeneous cosmology

Abstract

After recalling a general non-perturbative expression for the luminosity-redshift relation holding in a recently proposed ``geodesic light-cone gauge, we show how it can be transformed to phenomenologically more convenient gauges in which cosmological perturbation theory is better understood. We present, in particular, the complete result on the luminosity-redshift relation in the Poisson gauge up to second order for a fairly generic perturbed cosmology, assuming that appreciable vector and tensor perturbations are only generated at second order. This relation provides a basic ingredient for the computation of the effects of stochastic inhomogeneities on precision dark-energy cosmology whose results we have anticipated in a recent letter. More generally, it can be used in connection with any physical information carried by light-like signals traveling along our past light-cone.