Measuring and Modeling the Universe

This comprehensive volume reviews theory and measurement of various parameters related to the evolution of the universe.

Wendy L. Freedman (Edited by)

9780521143530, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 August 2010

408 pages
24.4 x 2.1 x 17 cm, 0.65 kg

Review of the hardback: '… this book is an excellent description of the state of cosmology at the beginning of the 21st Century and can be used as a very useful tool for a graduate course in cosmology.' The Observatory

The twentieth century witnessed some remarkable discoveries: the 1917 publication of Einstein's general theory of relativity, Carnegie astronomer Edwin Hubble's 1929 discovery of the expansion of the universe, evidence for the existence of dark matter, and the discovery of a mysterious dark energy, which is causing the universe to speed up its expansion. This comprehensive volume reviews the theory and measurement of various parameters related to the evolution of the universe. Topics include inflation, string theory, the history of cosmology in the context of measurements being made of the Hubble constant, the matter density, and dark energy, including observational results from the Sloan, Digital Sky Survey, Keck, Magellan, cosmic microwave background experiments, Hubble space telescope and Chandra. With chapters by leading authorities in the field, this book is a valuable resource for graduate students and professional research astronomers.

Introduction
List of participants
1. A brief history of cosmology Malcolm S. Longair
2. Edwin Hubble: a biographical retrospective Gale E. Christianson
3. Inflation Alan H. Guth
4. Update on string theory John H. Schwarz
5. Dark matter theory Joseph Silk
6. Status of cosmology on the occasion of the Carnegie Centennial Wendy L. Freedman and Michael S. Turner
7. The extragalactic distance scale Joseph B. Jensen, John L. Tonry and John P. Blakeslee
8. The Hubble constant from gravitational lens time delays Christopher S. Kochanek and Paul L. Schechter
9. Measuring the Hubble constant with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Erik D. Reese
10. How much is there of what? Measuring the mass density of the universe Virginia Trimble
11. Big Bang nucleosynthesis: probing the first 20 minutes Gary Steigman
12. Cosmological results from the 2dF galaxy redshift survey Matthew Colless
13. Large-scale structure in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Mariangela Bernardi
14. LIGO at the threshold of science operations Albert Lazzarini
15. Why is the universe accelerating? Sean M. Carroll
16. Cosmology and life Mario Livio
17. Evidence from Type Ia supernova for an accelerating universe and dark energy Alexei V. Filippenko
18. Theoretical overview of cosmic microwave background anisotropy Edward L. Wright
19. The polarization of the cosmic microwave background Matias Zaldarriaga
20. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe Lyman A. Page
21. Interference observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation Anthony C. S. Readhead and Timothy J. Pearson
22. Conference summary: observational cosmology Sandra M. Faber
23. Measuring and modeling the universe: a theoretical perspective Roger D. Blandford
Credits.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB], Cosmology & the universe [PGK]