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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Cosmology & the universe
Origins of Life: A Cosmic Perspective presents an overview of the
concepts, methods, and theories of astrobiology and origins of life
research while presenting a summary of the latest findings. The
book provides insight into the environments and processes that gave
birth to life on our planet, which naturally informs our assessment
of the probability that has arisen (or will arise) elsewhere. In
addition, the book encourages readers to go beyond basic concepts,
to explore topics in greater depth, and to engage in lively
discussions. The text is intended to be suitable for mid- and
upper-level undergraduates and beginning graduate students and more
generally as an introduction and overview for researchers and
general readers seeking to follow current developments in this
interdisciplinary field. Readers are assumed to have a basic
grounding in the relevant sciences, but prior specialized knowledge
is not required. Each chapter concludes with a list of questions
and discussion topics as well as suggestions for further reading.
Some questions can be answered with reference to material in the
text, but others require further reading and some have no known
answers. The intention is to encourage readers to go beyond basic
concepts, to explore topics in greater depth, and, in a classroom
setting, to engage in lively discussions with class members.
The stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) is by far the
most difficult source of gravitational radiation detect. At the
same time, it is the most interesting and intriguing one. This book
describes the initial detection of the SGWB and describes the
underlying mathematics behind one of the most amazing discoveries
of the 21st century. On the experimental side it would mean that
interferometric gravitational wave detectors work even better than
expected. On the observational side, such a detection could give us
information about the very early Universe, information that could
not be obtained otherwise. Even negative results and improved upper
bounds could put constraints on many cosmological and particle
physics models.
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