Cosmology, inflation, and the physics of nothing
Jan, 200360 pages
Part of Techniques and Concepts of High-Energy Physics : Proceedings, 12th NATO Advanced Study Institute, St. Croix, USA, June 13-24, 2002, 189-243
Published in:
- NATO Sci.Ser.II 123 (2003) 189-243
Contribution to:
e-Print:
- astro-ph/0301448 [astro-ph]
Report number:
- CU-TP-1083
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Abstract: (arXiv)
These four lectures cover four topics in modern cosmology: the cosmological constant, the cosmic microwave background, inflation, and cosmology as a probe of physics at the Planck scale. The underlying theme is that cosmology gives us a unique window on the ``physics of nothing,'' or the quantum-mechanical properties of the vacuum. The theory of inflation postulates that vacuum energy, or something very much like it, was the dominant force shaping the evolution of the very early universe. Recent astrophysical observations indicate that vacuum energy, or something very much like it, is also the dominant component of the universe today. Therefore cosmology gives us a way to study an important piece of particle physics inaccessible to accelerators. The lectures are oriented toward graduate students with only a passing familiarity with general relativity and knowledge of basic quantum field theory.- lectures: St. Croix 2002/06/13
- cosmological constant
- cosmic background radiation
- inflation
- vacuum state: energy
- quantum mechanics
- astrophysics: acceleration
- oscillation: acoustic
- density: fluctuation
- quantum gravity
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