The Inflationary Universe

Author: Alan Guth
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 9780201328400
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
This is the compelling, first-hand account of Alan Guth's paradigm-breaking discovery of the origins of the universe—and of his dramatic rise from young researcher to physics superstar. Guth's startling theory—widely regarded as one of the most important contributions to science during the twentieth century—states that the big bang was set into motion by a period of hyper-rapid “inflation,” lasting only a billion-trillion-billionth of a second. The Inflationary Universe is the passionate story of one leading scientist's effort to look behind the cosmic veil and explain how the universe began.

An Infinity of Worlds

Author: Will Kinney
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262547228
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
What happened before the primordial fire of the Big Bang: a theory about the ultimate origin of the universe. In the beginning was the Big Bang: an unimaginably hot fire almost fourteen billion years ago in which the first elements were forged. The physical theory of the hot nascent universe—the Big Bang—was one of the most consequential developments in twentieth-century science. And yet it leaves many questions unanswered: Why is the universe so big? Why is it so old? What is the origin of structure in the cosmos? In An Infinity of Worlds, physicist Will Kinney explains a more recent theory that may hold the answers to these questions and even explain the ultimate origins of the universe: cosmic inflation, before the primordial fire of the Big Bang. Kinney argues that cosmic inflation is a transformational idea in cosmology, changing our picture of the basic structure of the cosmos and raising unavoidable questions about what we mean by a scientific theory. He explains that inflation is a remarkable unification of inner space and outer space, in which the physics of the very large (the cosmos) meets the physics of the very small (elementary particles and fields), closing in a full circle at the first moment of time. With quantum uncertainty its fundamental feature, this new picture of cosmic origins introduces the possibility that the origin of the universe was of a quantum nature. Kinney considers the consequences of eternal cosmic inflation. Can we come to terms with the possibility that our entire observable universe is one of infinitely many, forever hidden from our view?

Cosmological Pattern of Microphysics in the Inflationary Universe

Author: Maxim Y. Khlopov
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402026501
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
Modern cosmology is a quickly developing ?eld of research. New technical devices and tools supply the community with new experimental data measured with high accuracy. The self-consistent explanation of these data needs t- oretical models that are based on hypothetical predictions of particle theory. In their turn, such predictions imply cosmology for their probe. Speci?c st- ies of the cosmological consequences of particle theory, linking them to their observable signatures, are actual. This boiling kettle of theoretical research and experimental efforts produces ideas that will be preserved for following generations. The aim of this book is to acquaint the reader with some of these ideas, - fering nontrivial ways to probe the physical basis of modern cosmology. An extensive review of the newest ideas in modern cosmology, e. g. , related with the development of the M-brane theory, lies beyond the scope of our book, which is aimed at providing a ?rmly established system of probes for these ideas, linking their predictions to their possible experimental test. We use the framework of in?ationary paradigm to reveal the phenomena that can shed light on the physical origin of the observed Universe, of its matter content and large-scale structure. The crucial role of quantum ?uctuations in creation of our Universe and in possible features, re?ecting cosmological impact of microphysics, is discussed. These features are shown to be accessible to - perimental test in the near future.

Inflationary Cosmology

Author: Martin Lemoine
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3540743537
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 435

Book Description
Some 25 years after the birth of inflationary cosmology, this volume sets out to provide both an authoritative and pedagogical introduction and review of the current state of the field. Readers learn about the arguments supporting the many different scenarios of cosmic inflation. Articles are written by eminent scientists, many of whom have made pioneering contributions to the field of inflationary cosmology.

Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology

Author: Andrei Linde
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9783718604906
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
A monograph on inflationary cosmology and cosmological phase transitions, investigating modern cosmology's relationship to elementary particle physics. This work also includes a non-technical discussion of inflationary cosmology for those unfamiliar with the theory.

Endless Universe

Author: Paul J. Steinhardt
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0385523114
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place. In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets. Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos. It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” (USA Today).

Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure

Author: Andrew R. Liddle
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521575980
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Book Description
A thorough and up-to-date graduate textbook on the most promising theory of the universe - inflationary cosmology.

Inflation and Quantum Cosmology

Author: A.D. Linde
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Inflation and Quantum Cosmology discusses the inflationary universe scenario, including the problems of the standard big bang theory and the interplay between elementary-particle theory and cosmology. Inflationary universe models generate many different final perturbation spectra. For example, a model of an inflationary universe, through a casual mechanism, can predict energy density fluctuations leading to the formation of galaxies. The inflationary universe scenario makes possible simultaneous solutions to ten problems related to cosmology and elementary particle physics. One problem concerns the origin of density perturbations that show a picture of the large-scale structure of the universe. Some unexplored possibilities are related to isothermal perturbations generated during inflation or to adiabatic perturbations with a non-flat spectrum. An inflationary universe cosmology also includes stochastic inflation that describes the universe on very large scales-from fragmented mini-universes to another inflationary cosmos. The book also discusses the problem relating to the initial conditions from which an inflationary universe starts. This book is suitable for astronomers, astrophysicists, and professors of cosmology and cosmogenesis.

The Inflationary Universe

Author: Alan H. Guth
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 009995950X
Category : Big bang theory
Languages : en
Pages : 378

Book Description
The classic Big Bang theory describes what happened after the bang. Guth looks at the questions the theory can't answer, such as - if matter can neither be created or destroyed, how could so much matter arise from nothing at all?

Introduction to Cosmic Inflation and Dark Energy

Author: Konstantinos Dimopoulos
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351174851
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Book Description
Cosmic inflation and dark energy hold the key to the origin and the eventual fate of the Universe. Despite the increasing prominence of these subjects in research and teaching over the past decade or more, no introductory textbook dedicated to these topics has been previously published. Dr. Konstantinos Dimopoulos is a highly regarded expert in the field, and an experienced communicator of the subject to students. In this book, he provides advanced undergraduate and early graduate students with an accessible introduction and equips them with the tools they need to understand the cosmology of cosmic inflation and dark energy. Features: Provides a concise, pedagogical "crash course" in big bang cosmology, focusing on the dynamics and the history of the Universe, with an emphasis on the role of dark energy Chapters contain questions and problems for readers to test their understanding The first book to make cosmic inflation and dark energy accessible to students