Effect of the spatial curvature of the Universe on the form of the gravitational potential

Abstract

Within the cosmic screening approach, we obtain the exact formulas for the velocity-independent gravitational potentials produced by matter in the form of discrete sources distributed in the open and closed Universes. These formulas demonstrate that spatial curvature of the Universe considerably affect the form of the potentials and forces. While in the open Universe the gravitational force undergoes exponential suppression at cosmological distances, in the closed Universe the force induced by an individual mass is equal to zero at the antipodal point with respect to this mass. The derived formulas are applicable for investigations of the motion of astrophysical objects (e.g., galaxies) in the open and closed Universes, and for simulations of the large scale structure formation.v2 (matching the publication in European Physical Journal C) = v1 + minor changes + new Refs.; 8 pages, 3 figures