From Cosmology to Cosmonomy

TL;DR

The paper argues that cosmology has transformed from a qualitative discourse into a law-based science of the observable universe, enabled by high-precision data and general-relativistic dynamics. It introduces cosmonomy as the term capturing this mature regime, where universal, predictive, and falsifiable laws govern cosmic evolution and are rigorously tested across diverse probes. The work reviews the data revolution, the Friedmann framework, and a suite of observational pillars (CMB, SNIa, BAO, LSS, lensing, GW standard sirens, and 21-cm) that collectively instantiate a coherent, testable cosmology. It emphasizes the epistemic limits and anticipates a future of further tightening cosmic laws through next-generation surveys while acknowledging the uniqueness of the universe as a final boundary to complete mastery.

Abstract

For most of its history, cosmology was a qualitatively constrained discourse on the universe, shaped by limited observational access and the absence of global dynamical laws. This situation has changed decisively in recent decades. Modern cosmology is now driven by an unprecedented flow of high-precision data from a wide range of independent probes, including the cosmic microwave background, large-scale structure, supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, gravitational lensing, cosmic chronometers, redshift-space distortions, gravitational-wave standard sirens, and emerging 21-cm observations, among others. This observational wealth is matched by a concrete theoretical and mathematical framework, based on general relativity, which provides the dynamical equations governing the evolution of spacetime and matter at cosmic scales. Combined with explicit background and perturbative equations, this framework enables quantitative, predictive, and falsifiable descriptions of cosmic evolution. Thus, cosmology operates today as a nomological natural science of the observable universe, characterized by general laws, predictive power, and systematic empirical testing. We argue that this epistemic transformation motivates a corresponding conceptual shift, directly analogous to the historical transition from astrology to astronomy. In this sense, the transition from cosmology to \emph{cosmonomy} should begin to be discussed among cosmologists, or, more precisely, among cosmonomers.