GEVIN GIORBRAN has authored three books including "Exploring A Many Worlds Universe" in which he describes in detail how our universe eventually ends as space expands perfectly flat and time reaches absolute zero, a prediction based upon his model of an infinite and timeless Multiverse, and all three books were written prior to 1998 when astrophysicists discovered the expansion of the universe is in fact accelerating towards absolute zero. While other scientists continue to grapple with this discovery, in Everything Forever Giorbran eloquently explains for the lay reader the governing role a cosmic zero plays in the evolution of all universes and all life.

Prior to the 1920s it was generally thought, with a few exceptions, that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the entire Universe. Based on the work of Henrietta Leavitt with Cepheid variables, astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to determine that the Andromeda Galaxy and others had to lie outside our own. Moreover, based on the work of Vesto Slipher, involving the redshifts of these galaxies, Hubble was able to determine that the Universe was not static, as had been previously thought, but expanding. The number of galaxies has also been expanding, with estimates varying from 100 billion to 2 trillion. While every galaxy in the Universe is interesting just by its very fact of being, the author has selected 60 of those that possess some unusual qualities that make them of some particular interest. These galaxies have complex evolutionary histories, with some having supermassive black holes at their core, others are powerful radio sources, a very few are relatively nearby and even visible to the naked eye, whereas the light from one recent discovery has been travelling for the past 13.4 billion years to show us its infancy, and from a time when the Universe was in its infancy. And in spite of the vastness of the Universe, some galaxies are colliding with others, embraced in a graceful gravitational dance. Indeed, as the Andromeda Galaxy is heading towards us, a similar fate awaits our Milky Way. When looking at a modern image of a galaxy, one is in awe at the shear wondrous nature of such a magnificent creation, with its boundless secrets that it is keeping from us, its endless possibilities for harboring alien civilizations, and we remain left with the ultimate knowledge that we are connected to its glory.

This volume contains papers presented at an international conference to celebrate Fred Hoyle's monumental contributions to astronomy, astrophysics and astrobiology and more generally to humanity and culture. The contributed articles highlight the important aspects of his scientific life and show how much of an example and inspiration he has been for over three generations in the 20th century.
There are a few people of whom it could be said they changed the way we perceive the world. Galileo Galilei, Nicholas Copernicus and Isaac Newton were amongst these. The inclusion of Fred Hoyle in this elite group may be contentious at the moment for the reason that in challenging the most cherished of Holy Grails in science he unwittingly offended many. But once the dust has settled over the many disputes that were raised and in the fullness of time there can be little doubt that Fred Hoyle will be ranked alongside these figures of history.
Hoyle perceived science with an indomitable passion and an obsessive desire to find the truth wherever it lay. His singleness of purpose in this great mission and his deep suspicion of orthodoxy, his powerful intellect and imagination set him apart from most of his contemporaries in the last century.
This volume includes papers presented at a commemorative conference held in Cardiff in June 2002. The material divides naturally into several sections: Personal Reminiscences, Stellar Structure and Evolution, Cosmology, Interstellar Matter, Comets and finally Panspermia. Each article pays its own tribute to Fred Hoyle for his inspiration and guidance that led to major breakthroughs in astrophysics and space science throughout the 20th century.

Dark matter research is one of the most fascinating and active fields among current high-profile scientific endeavours. It holds the key to all major breakthroughs to come in the fields of cosmology and astroparticle physics. The present volume is particularly concerned with the sources and the detection of dark matter and dark energy in the universe and will prove to be an invaluable research tool for all scientists who work in this field.

The year 2005, which marked the 100th anniversary of the 'annus mirabilis', the year in which Albert Einstein published three of his most important scientific papers, was the perfect opportunity to review and to present the current scientific understanding of relativistic topics. This book provides an up-to-date reference on the theory of gravity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. It is a useful reference tool for both the expert and the new-comer in these fields.

General Relativity is a beautiful geometric theory, simple in its mathematical formulation but leading to numerous consequences with striking physical interpretations: gravitational waves, black holes, cosmological models, and so on. This introductory textbook is written for mathematics students interested in physics and physics students interested in exact mathematical formulations (or for anyone with a scientific mind who is curious to know more of the world we live in), recent remarkable experimental and observational results which confirm the theory are clearly described and no specialised physics knowledge is required. The mathematical level of Part A is aimed at undergraduate students and could be the basis for a course on General Relativity. Part B is more advanced, but still does not require sophisticated mathematics. Based on Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat's more advanced text, General Relativity and the Einstein Equations, the aim of this book is to give with precision, but as simply as possible, the foundations and main consequences of General Relativity. The first five chapters from General Relativity and the Einstein Equations have been updated with new sections and chapters on black holes, gravitational waves, singularities, and the Reissner-Nordstroem and interior Schwarzchild solutions. The rigour behind this book will provide readers with the perfect preparation to follow the great mathematical progress in the actual development, as well as the ability to model, the latest astrophysical and cosmological observations. The book presents basic General Relativity and provides a basis for understanding and using the fundamental theory.

The presentations at this NASA-hosted Symposium in honor of Mino Freund will touch upon the fields, to which his prolific mind has made significant contributions. These include low temperature physics, cosmology, and nanotechnology with its wide-ranging applicability to material science, neuroscience, Earth sciences and satellite technology. To learn more about Mino s career you can download the "Tribute" http: //multimedia.seti.org/mino/Tribute.pdf which outlines his journey from (i) low-temperature physics and superconductivity at the ETH Zurich to (ii) building one remarkable milliKelvin refrigerator for the US-Japan IRTS mission at UC Berkeley and ISAS in Japan to (iii) a decade in cosmology, to (iv) being on the micro-bolometer team at NASA Goddard for the HAWC instrument on SOFIA, to (v) developing at AFRL the nanotechnology portfolio for the entire Air Force. This was followed by six years at the NASA Ames Research Center, where Mino formulated his far-ahead ideas about swarms of capable nanosats circling the Earth, which have since started to become a reality. He engaged in a broad range of nanotechnology projects, including novel applications in neuroscience well before he himself was struck by the deadly brain tumor."

A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick theory the Big Bang. In this amazingly comprehensible history of the universe, Simon Singh decodes the mystery behind the Big Bang theory, lading us through the development of one of the most extraordinary, important, and awe-inspiring theories in science.

Describes the branch of astronomy in which processes in the universe are investigated with experimental methods employed in particle-physics experiments. After a historical introduction the basics of elementary particles,

Explains particle interactions and the relevant detection techniques, while modern aspects of astroparticle physics are described in a chapter on cosmology.

Provides an orientation in the field of astroparticle physics that many beginners might seek and appreciate because the underlying physics fundamentals are presented with little mathematics, and the results are illustrated by many diagrams.

Readers have a chance to enter this field of astronomy with a book that closes the gap between expert and popular level.

The now recognized extensive existence of life on earth very shortly after the destructive bombardment of the earth's surface by early solar system debris has stimulated inquiry into possible exogenous sources of prebiotic molecules from space as well as intensified studies of the early earth's atmosphere. The chapters in this book cover the possible sources of prebiotic molecules and avenues by which life could have evolved, starting from the birth and evolution of the solar system. The relevance of the classic experiments by Stanley Miller on the formation of life's building blocks on an early earth is reexamined. The role of chemistry in space is covered by chapters on interstellar dust, and meteorites to which experimental as well as theoretical investigations have been directed. In various chapters the existence of amino acids as well as other prebiotic molecules in meteorites is clearly established and inferred for interstellar dust and comets. Theories of molecular synthesis in the solar nebula are considered. Extensive coverage is given to the physical conditions and to prebiotic systems on the early earth. Possible pathways to life on an early Mars and the possible messages to be obtained by space exploration are discussed. Questions of effects of clays and of chirality on early chemical evolution are discussed. Recent ideas on the RNA world as the precursor to life are reviewed. The open-endedness of the study of life's origins and the need to investigate whether the prebiotic building blocks formed in outer space or on the earth is emphasized. A good deal of the book is suitable to graduate students.

The Physics of the Early Universe is an edited and expanded version of the lectures given at a recent summer school of the same name. Its aim is to present an advanced multi-authored textbook that meets the needs of both postgraduate students and young researchers interested in, or already working on, problems in cosmology and general relativity, with emphasis on the early universe. A particularly strong feature of the present work is the constructive-critical approach to the present mainstream theories, the careful assessment of some alternative approaches, and the overall balance between theoretical and observational considerations. As such, this book will also benefit experienced scientists and nonspecialists from related areas of research.

Our view of the Galaxy has recently been undergoing an increasing divergence from the traditional standpoint. In this book, ten authors discuss in eight chapters how the conceptions of the Milky Way have moved in new directions. Starting with the inner parsec and the Centre of the Galaxy, the book gradually moves on to the bulge and its relation to the globular clusters and to the disk, of which the presence of a bar is argued. A new look on the HI distribution in the disk, a synthesis of molecular line surveys and the study of stellar populations are discussed in the last three chapters.

The book is based on the author's PhD thesis, which deals with the concept of time in quantum gravity and its relevance for the physics of the early Universe. It presents a consistent and complete new relational formulation of quantum gravity (more specifically, of quantum mechanics models with diffeomorphism invariance), which is applied to potentially observable cosmological effects. The work provides answers to the following questions: How can the dynamics of quantum states of matter and geometry be defined in a diffeomorphism-invariant way? What is the relevant space of physical states and which operators act on it? How are the quantum states related to probabilities in the absence of a preferred time? The answers can provide a further part of the route to constructing a fundamental theory of quantum gravity. The book is well-suited to graduate students as well as professional researchers in the fields of general relativity and gravitation, cosmology, and quantum foundations.

This book discusses cosmology from both an observational and a strong theoretical perspective. The first part focuses on gravitation, notably the expansion of the universe and determination of cosmological parameters, before moving onto the main emphasis of the book, the physics of the early universe, and the connections between cosmological models and particle physics. The book provides links with particle physics and with investigations of the theories beyond the Standard Model, especially in connection to dark matter and matter-antimatter asymmetry puzzles. Readers will gain a comprehensive account of cosmology and the latest observational results, without requiring prior knowledge of relativistic theories, making the text ideal for students. Features: Provides a self-contained discussion of modern cosmology results without requiring any prior knowledge of relativistic theories, enabling students to learn the first rudiments needed for a rigorous comprehension of cosmological concepts Contains a timely discussion of the latest cosmological results, including those from WMAP and the Planck satellite, and discuss the cosmological applications of the Nobel Prize 2017 awarded discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO interferometer and the very high energy neutrinos discovered by the IceCube detector Includes original figures complementing mathematical derivations and accounting for the most important cosmological observations, in addition to a wide variety of problems with a full set of solutions discussed in detail in an accompanying solutions manual (available upon qualifying course adoption) To view the errata please visit the authors personal href=":http//www.southampton.ac.uk/~pdb1d08">webpage.

This volume contains a number of essays by experts in areas of theoretical physics and astrophysics including cosmology, classical and quantum gravity, string theory and relativistic astrophysics. It will provide the reader with excellent reviews of current research in these frontier areas. Several of the essays emphasise alternative views of the Universe by leading astronomers and physicists who are known for their pioneering contributions. The volume is dedicated to Professor Jayant Narlikar, who has concerned himself with fundamental issues in cosmology and gravitation theory over a long and distinguished research career.

This book provides a first-hand account of modern cosmology, written by three celebrated astronomers renowned for their excellence in both research and teaching. The central theme of the book, the deep Universe, is approached in three truly complementary ways: as a coherent and smooth theory embracing the evolution of the Universe from its original radiations emerging from the hot Big Bang to the present structures of matter; as a meandering, rough road paved by our observations of stars, galaxies, and clusters; and in terms of how these approaches have been gradually developed and intertwined in the historical process that led to the modern science of cosmology.

Take your seats for the greatest tour ever - one that encompasses the whole of the Universe. En route, we stop off to gaze at 100 amazing sights - from asteroids to zodiacal dust and from orbit around the Earth to beyond the most distant galaxies. We start right here on Earth, and your tour guides are cosmic voyagers Patrick Moore, Brian May and Chris Lintott: Patrick is a lifelong lunar specialist; Brian is the leading authority on dust in our solar system, and Chris researches the formation of stars and galaxies.

The last decade of this century has seen a renewed interest in the dynamics and physics of the small bodies of the Solar System, Asteroids, Comets and Meteors. New observational evidences such as the discovery of the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, refined numerical tools such as the symplectic integrators, analytical tools such as semi-numerical perturbation algorithms and in general a better understanding of the dynamics of Hamiltonian systems, all these factors have converged to make possible and worthwhile the study, over very long time spans, of these "minor" objects. Also the public, the media and even some political assell}blies have become aware that these "minor" objects of our planetary environnement could become deadly weapons. Apparently they did have a role in Earth history and a role more ominous than "predicting" defeat (or victory, why not?) to batches of credulous rulers. Remembering what may have happened to the dinosaurs but keeping all the discretion necessary to avoid creating irrational scares, it may not be unwise or irrelevant to improve our knowledge of the physics and dynamics of these objects and to study in particular their interactions with our planet.

Einstein's general theory of relativity is introduced in this advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level textbook. Topics include special relativity, in the formalism of Minkowski's four-dimensional space-time, the principle of equivalence, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis, Einstein field equation, as well as many modern cosmological subjects, from primordial inflation and cosmic microwave anisotropy to the dark energy that propels an accelerating universe.
The author presents the subject with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus. The reader first learns how to describe curved spacetime. At this mathematically more accessible level, the reader can already study the many interesting phenomena such as gravitational lensing, precession of Mercury's perihelion, black holes, and cosmology. The full tensor formulation is presented later, when the Einstein equation is solved for a few symmetric cases. Many modern topics in cosmology are discussed in this book: from inflation, cosmic microwave anisotropy to the "dark energy" that propels an accelerating universe.
Mathematical accessibility, together with the various pedagogical devices (e.g., worked-out solutions of chapter-end problems), make it practical for interested readers to use the book to study general relativity and cosmology on their own.

The observation, in 1919 by A.S. Eddington and collaborators, of the gra- tational de?ection of light by the Sun proved one of the many predictions of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity: The Sun was the ?rst example of a gravitational lens. In 1936, Albert Einstein published an article in which he suggested - ing stars as gravitational lenses. A year later, Fritz Zwicky pointed out that galaxies would act as lenses much more likely than stars, and also gave a list of possible applications, as a means to determine the dark matter content of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. It was only in 1979 that the ?rst example of an extragalactic gravitational lens was provided by the observation of the distant quasar QSO 0957+0561, by D. Walsh, R.F. Carswell, and R.J. Weymann. A few years later, the ?rst lens showing images in the form of arcs was detected. The theory, observations, and applications of gravitational lensing cons- tute one of the most rapidly growing branches of astrophysics. The gravi- tional de?ection of light generated by mass concentrations along a light path producesmagni?cation,multiplicity,anddistortionofimages,anddelaysp- ton propagation from one line of sight relative to another. The huge amount of scienti?c work produced over the last decade on gravitational lensing has clearly revealed its already substantial and wide impact, and its potential for future astrophysical applications.