We derive an expression for the luminosity distance in a perturbed Friedmann universe. We define the correlation function and the power spectrum of the luminosity distance fluctuations and express them in terms of the initial spectrum of the Bardeen potential. We present semianalytical results for the case of a pure CDM (cold dark matter) universe. We argue that the luminosity distance power spectrum represents a new observational tool which can be used to determine cosmological parameters. In addition, our results shed some light into the debate whether second order small scale fluctuations can mimic an accelerating universe.

• Received 7 November 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.73.023523