Modern Cosmology  

General Principles, Status, and Issues > s.a. anthropic principle; cosmological constant; holography.
* Idea: Study of the observations on and dynamics of the universe as a whole, including the early universe.
* Steps, status: 1929, Cosmology becomes a science, based on observation, with Hubble's observation of the expansion of the universe, and its predictions are subject to testing; Proposal of hot big bang; Observation of cmb; 1992, First COBE results on anisotropy; 1997, First evidence that the expansion is accelerating, concept of dark energy; 2003, Emergence of "precision cosmology" with the first WMAP results.
* Central dogma: The same laws of physics we can test here on Earth apply everywhere in the universe.
@ Cosmography: [kinematics of cosmology] Visser gq/04-in.
> Models: see cosmological models; multiverse [including other worlds, natural selection]; numerical general relativity; quantum cosmology.

Cosmological Principle > s.a. observational cosmology [including case against]; cosmology and general relativity [inhomogeneous].
* History: Introduced by Einstein in a 1917 paper; Formulated in its present form by Bondi in 1948, and assumed as simplifying assumption in model building; Questioned for a decade after the discovery of superclusters and voids in 1985 (e.g., fractal universes), but by 1995 there was evidence that at scales > 100 Mpc there was no structure.
* Idea: The universe is homogeneous and isotropic; An extension to the cosmos of the Copernican principle; It can be taken to say that the small-scale degrees of freedom don't need to be taken into account when studying the dynamics of the large-scale ones.
* Conditional cosmological principle: A more subtle version, in which the universe looks the same from every galaxy; Proposed by B Mandelbrot, supported by L Pietronero, it is consistent with non-homogeneity in the fractal sense.
@ References: Jaakkola Ap(89); Mittal & Lohiya Frac(03)ap/02 [conditional, fractal dust]; Lahav CQG(02) [evidence]; Zeng & Zhao gq/05, Zeng gq/05 [and standard cosmology].

Other Aspects > s.a. entropy; gravitational thermodynamics; Rigidity; rotation; Superfluids.
* Cosmic coincidence problem: The fact that the densities of vacuum energy and matter are nearly equal today.
@ Statistics, number counts: Colombi et al MNRAS(00)ap/99; Szapudi et al MNRAS(00)ap/99, MNRAS(99)ap/99; > s.a. galaxy distribution.
@ Beginning and initial singularity: Narlikar PhSc(92); Bogdanov & Bogdanov CQG(01) [!!!]; Vaas bdw(04)phy [lqg]; Szydlowski et al PRD(05) [vs bounce, test]; Grøn EJP(06) [and spatially infinite universe]; Ashtekar phy/06-in [in quantum gravity]; Frampton a0704-book [I, re beginning and end]; Stenger a0710 [model]; > s.a. boundary conditions in quantum cosmology; history [entropic creation argument]; quantum gravity phenomenology, quantum cosmology, singularities.
@ Complexity and order: Layzer 89 [I-II]; Parker [I]; Hu in(88)gq/95; Kunz et al PRD(06) [and parameters]; > s.a. complexity.
@ Local vs global physics: Ellis IJMPA(02)gq/01; > s.a. arrow of time; mach, Olbers' Paradox, relativistic cosmology.
@ Coincidences, tuning, naturality: & Hoyle; Carter pr(67)-a0710 [foundation for anthropic principle]; Griest PRD(02) [proposal]; Rees in(03)ap/04; Carroll ht/05/Nat; França PLB(06), Funkhouser PRS(06), PRS(08)phy/06 [proposals]; del Campo et al PRD-a0806.
> Phenomenology: see large-scale geometry and topology; observational cosmology [including age].
> Pre-big-bang cosmology: see loop quantum cosmology; string phenomenology.

The Future of the Universe > s.a. Big Trip; Civilizations; models.
* Big rip: A scenario in which eventually all local structure will be ripped apart by expansion if dark energy is phantom energy.
* Matter and radiation: 2007, Krauss & Scherrer predict matter energy density will keep dominating radiation energy density.
@ General: Davies 94 [I]; Adams & Laughlin RMP(97)ap [astrophysics]; Krauss & Turner GRG(99); Krauss & Starkman SA(99)nov [and life]; Starobinsky G&C(00)ap/99-in; Goldsmith 00, Barrow et al MNRAS(00)ap [including acceleration]; Avelino et al PLB(01) [and inflation]; Tipler ap/01-in; Chiueh & He PRD(02)ap/01 [local structure]; Hoeneisen ap/02; Cirkovic AJP(03)ap/02 [eschatology]; Dabrowski ap/06-in; Page ht/06 [future decay]; Krauss & Starkman ap/07 [WIMP annihilation]; Carlip ht/07 [and variation of constants]; Krauss & Scherrer ap/07-GRF [return of static universe], PRD(07) + sr(07)apr [matter domination].
@ And dark energy: Huterer et al PRD(02)ap; Kallosh et al PRD(02) [sugra model]; Loeb PRD(02)ap/01; Adams et al IJMPD(03)ap [island universes]; Kallosh & Linde JCAP(03); Page JKPS(06)ht/05 [lower limit 26 Gyr, upper lim e^{1050}–1060 yr]; > s.a. dark energy.
@ Big rip: Caldwell et al PRL(03)ap; González-Díaz PRD(03)ap, PLB(04)ap/03, PLB(06); Frampton & Takahashi APP(04)ap, Frampton ap/04-in [no dark energy]; Barboza & Lemos GRG(06)gq [and quantum gravity]; > s.a. Phantom Field.
@ Big crunch/smash: Faraoni PRD(03)gq [superquintessence].

General References > s.a. brane cosmology; cosmological history; history of models; cosmological models.
@ Articles, I: Rees SA(99)dec; issue SA(01)jan; Starkman & Schwarz SA(05)aug [discrepancies]; Kamionkowski a0706-in.
@ Status, reviews: Turner ap/97-in, NPPS(97)ap; Silk ap/99-in; Rees ap/99-in; Ellis GRG(00); Narlikar & Padmanabhan ARAA(01); Turner ap/02-in, ap/02-in; Hawking ap/03-in; Peebles ap/03-in; Primack NAR(05)ap/04-in; Maroto & Ramírez ap/04-in; Lesgourges ap/04-ln; García-Bellido hp/04-in, ap/05-ln; Fabris gq/04-ln; Padmanabhan gq/05-in, ap/06-ln; Linder ap/05-in; Brandenberger ht/07-ln; Zee MPLA(07); Kolb a0709-in; Primack NPPS(07); Efstathiou a0712-in [future]; Peebles a0712-in; Giovannini 08.
@ Non-specialist intros: PW(96)sep; Gleiser IJMPD(04)ap-in; Elizalde gq/04; Roos a0802-in.
@ Books, I: Merleau-Ponty & Morando 71; Calder 77; Durham & Purrington 83; Trefil 83; Pagels 85; Gratton 87; Gribbin 88; Fang & Li 89; Chaisson 90; Singer ed-90; Lightman 91; Hetherington ed-93; Rowan-Robinson 93, 99; Silk 94; Lemonick 95; Mather & Boslough 96; Hogan 98; Delsemme 98 [including life]; Padmanabhan 98; Schulman 99; Harrison 00; Rees 00; Lidsey 00; Gribbin 01 [astronomy/cosmology, coffee table]; Kirshner 02; Rees 03; Singh 04; Silk 06; Glendenning 07; Gribbin 07 [r pw(07)jun].
@ II: Contopoulos & Kotsakis 87; Roos 94; Silk 94; Linder 97; Bernstein 98; Liddle 99; Livio 00 [acceleration and cosmological constant]; Raine & Thomas 01; Ryden 03; Dolgov hp/03-in; Glendenning 04; Hawley & Holcomb 05.
@ II, from Newtonian theory: Norbury EJP(98)phy; Jordan AJP(05)ap/03.
@ III: Peebles 71; Hoyle 75; Rees 95; Lukash ap/00-in; Cotsakis & Leach LNP(02)gq/01; Rich 01; Narlikar 02; Padmanabhan 02; Kinney ap/03-ln [and inflation]; Freedman & Turner RMP(03)ap; Sakharov & Hofer ETH(03)ap [rev]; Dodelson 03; Trodden & Carroll ap/04-ln; Khlopov & Rubin 04; Gonzalo 05; Mukhanov 05.
@ And philosophy, etc: Leslie ed-90; Munitz 90 [I]; Grünbaum PhSc(93)dec [origination], FP(96), BJPS(00) [theology]; Zinkernagel SHPMP(02)ap/01 [unity of science]; Klee BJPS(02) [argument by design]; Kragh 04 [religious thought]; Ellis ap/06-in [issues]; Grujic FS(07)-a0709 [epistemic questions]; > s.a. inflation, quantum cosmology.
@ Conceptual: Ribeiro & Videira Ap(98)phy [dogmatism]; Wahsner IJMPA(02) [on the universe as a system]; Zinkernagel SHPMP(02) [and particle physics]; Mbonye gq/03 [self-regulating dynamics]; Coule GRG(04) [issues re infinite space]; McCabe SHPMP(04)gq/05 [structure of general-relativistic cosmology], SHPMP(05)gq/05 [creation]; Baryshev ap/05-in [conceptual problems...???].

Online Resources > see Internet Encyclopedia of Science pages; Discover 2007 interview with Janna Levin.

What caused the Big Bang? God divided by zero.


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