As new discoveries complicate the scientific picture of the universe, the evolving theories about the nature of space and time and the origins and fate of the universe threaten to become overwhelming. Enter David Seargent. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Universe explains the bizarre, complicated terrain of modern cosmology for lay readers. From exploring some of the strange consequences of the theories of special and general relativity, to probing time dilation and the twin and mother-and-baby "paradoxes" and the theory that the universe can be mathematically considered as a hologram, all of the latest findings and conjectures are clearly described in non-technical language. The development of quantum physics and the more recent developments of string and M-theory are looked at, in addition to several hypotheses that have not won wide acceptance from the scientific community, such as modified gravity. Enter the wonderfully weird world of these theories and gain a new appreciation for the latest findings in cosmological research.

This book overviews the extensive literature on apparent cosmological and black hole horizons. In theoretical gravity, dynamical situations such as gravitational collapse, black hole evaporation, and black holes interacting with non-trivial environments, as well as the attempts to model gravitational waves occurring in highly dynamical astrophysical processes, require that the concept of event horizon be generalized. Inequivalent notions of horizon abound in the technical literature and are discussed in this manuscript. The book begins with a quick review of basic material in the first one and a half chapters, establishing a unified notation. Chapter 2 reminds the reader of the basic tools used in the analysis of horizons and reviews the various definitions of horizons appearing in the literature. Cosmological horizons are the playground in which one should take baby steps in understanding horizon physics. Chapter 3 analyzes cosmological horizons, their proposed thermodynamics, and several coordinate systems. The remaining chapters discuss analytical solutions of the field equations of General Relativity, scalar-tensor, and f(R) gravity which exhibit time-varying apparent horizons and horizons which appear and/or disappear in pairs. An extensive bibliography enriches the volume. The intended audience is master and PhD level students and researchers in theoretical physics with knowledge of standard gravity.

Rhodri Evans tells the story of what we know about the universe, from Jacobus Kapteyn's Island universe at the turn of the 20th Century, and the discovery by Hubble that the nebulae were external to our own galaxy, through Gamow's early work on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and its subsequent discovery by Penzias and Wilson, to modern day satellite-lead CMB research. Research results from the ground-based experiments DASI, BOOMERANG, and satellite missions COBE, WMAP and Planck are explained and interpreted to show how our current picture of the universe was arrived at, and the author looks at the future of CMB research and what we still need to learn. This account is enlivened by Dr Rhodri Evans' personal connections to the characters and places in the story.

A major outstanding problem in physics is understanding the nature of the dark energy that is driving the accelerating expansion of the Universe. This thesis makes a significant contribution by demonstrating, for the first time, using state-of-the-art computer simulations, that the interpretation of future galaxy survey measurements is far more subtle than is widely assumed, and that a major revision to our models of these effects is urgently needed. The work contained in the thesis was used by the WiggleZ dark energy survey to measure the growth rate of cosmic structure in 2011 and had a direct impact on the design of the surveys to be conducted by the European Space Agency's Euclid mission, a 650 million euro project to measure dark energy.

This book provides a comprehensive, critical study of the oldest and most famous argument for the existence of God: the Cosmological Argument. Professor Rowe examines and interprets historically significant versions of the argument from Aquinas to Samuel Clarke and explores the major objections that have been advances against it. Beginning with analyses of the Cosmological Argument as expressed by Aquinas and Duns Scotus in the thirteenth century, the author seeks to uncover, clairfy , and critically explore the philosophical concepts and theses essential to the reasoning exhibited in the principal versions of the Cosmological Argument. The major focus of the book is on the form that the argument takes in the eighteenth century, principally in the writings of Samuel Clarke. The author concludes with a discussion of the extent to which the Cosmological Argument may provide a justification for the belief in God. In a new Preface, the author offers some updates on his own thinking as well as that of others who have grappled with this topic.

Peter Gabriel Bergmann started his work on general relativity in 1936 when he moved from Prague to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Bergmann collaborated with Einstein in an attempt to provide a geometrical unified field theory of gravitation and electromagnetism. Within this program they wrote two articles together: A. Einstein and P. G. Bergmann, Ann. Math. 39, 685 (1938) ; and A. Einstein, V. Bargmann and P. G. Bergmann, Th. von Karman Anniversary Volume 212 (1941). The search for such a theory was intense in the ten years following the birth of general relativity. In recent years, some of the geometrical ideas proposed in these publications have proved essential in contemporary attempts towards the unification of all interactions including gravity, Kaluza-Klein type theories and supergravity theories. In 1942, Bergmann published the book "Introduction to the Theory of Relativity" which included a foreword by Albert Einstein. This book is a reference for the subject, either as a textbook for classroom use or for individual study. A second corrected and enlarged edition of the book was published in 1976. Einstein said in his foreword to the first edition: "Bergmann's book seems to me to satisfy a definite need. . . Much effort has gone into making this book logically and pedagogically satisfactory and Bergmann has spent many hours with me which were devoted to this end.

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR The No.1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind brings us a stunning new vision of our future in space Human civilization is on the verge of living beyond Earth. But how will it happen? World-renowned physicist Michio Kaku takes us on a journey to the future, introducing the mind-boggling developments in robotics, nanotechnology and biotechnology that will one day enable us to make our homes among the stars. 'With admirable clarity and ease, Kaku explains how we might colonize not only Mars but some of the rocky moons of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn . . . The book has an infectious, can-do enthusiasm' Steven Poole, The Wall Street Journal 'Kaku grounds his readers in science happening right now, while throwing open the windows to imagine where it might lead in a thousand years' Adam Frank, The New York Times Book Review 'Kaku is an international treasure and a man of infectious enthusiasm' The Times

This book represents the proceedings from the NATO sponsored Advanced Research Workshop entitled "Observational Tests of Inflation" held at the University of Durham, England on the 10th-14th December, 1990. In recent years, the cosmological inflation model has drawn together the worlds of particle physics, theoretical cosmology and observational astronomy. The aim of the workshop was to bring together experts in all of these fields to discuss the current status of the inflation theory and its observational predictions. The simplest inflation model makes clear predictions which are testable by astronomical observation. Foremost is the prediction that the cosmological density parameter, no, should have a value negligibly different from the critical, Einstein-de Sitter value of 00=1. The other main prediction is that the spectrum of primordial density fluctuations should be Gaussian and take the Harrison-Zeldovich form. The prediction that n =l, in patticular, leads to several important consequences o for cosmology. Firstly, there is the apparent contradiction with the limits on baryon density from Big Bang nucleosynthesis which has led to the common conjecture that weakly interacting particles rather than baryons may form the dominant mass constituent of the Universe. Secondly, with n =l, the age of the Universe is uncomfortably short if o the Hubble constant and the ages of the oldest star clusters lie within their currently believed limits.

Some major developments of physics in the last three decades are addressed by highly qualified specialists in different specific fields. They include renormalization problems in QFT, vacuum energy fluctuations and the Casimir effect in different configurations, and a wealth of applications. A number of closely related issues are also considered. The cosmological applications of these theories play a crucial role and are at the very heart of the book; in particular, the possibility to explain in a unified way the whole history of the evolution of the Universe: from primordial inflation to the present day accelerated expansion. Further, a description of the mathematical background underlying many of the physical theories considered above is provided. This includes the uses of zeta functions in physics, as in the regularization problems in QFT already mentioned, specifically in curved space-time, and in Casimir problems as.

Black holes and gravitational radiation are two of the most dramatic predictions of general relativity. The quest for rotating black holes - discovered by Roy P. Kerr as exact solutions to the Einstein equations - is one of the most exciting challenges currently facing physicists and astronomers. Gravitational Radiation, Luminous Black Holes and Gamma-Ray Burst Supernovae takes the reader through the theory of gravitational radiation and rotating black holes, and the phenomenology of GRB-supernovae. Topics covered include Kerr black holes and the frame-dragging of spacetime, luminous black holes, compact tori around black holes, and black-hole spin interactions. It concludes with a discussion of prospects for gravitational-wave detections of a long-duration burst in gravitational-waves as a method of choice for identifying Kerr black holes in the Universe. This book is ideal for a special topics graduate course on gravitational-wave astronomy and as an introduction to those interested in this contemporary development in physics.

The mystery of gravity has captivated us for centuries. But what is gravity and how does it work? This engaging book delves into the bizarre and often counter-intuitive world of gravitational physics. Join distinguished astrophysicist Professor Luciano Rezzolla on this virtual journey into Einstein's world of gravity, with each milestone presenting ever more fascinating aspects of gravitation. Through gentle exposure to concepts such as spacetime curvature and general relativity, you will discover some of the most curious consequences of gravitational physics, such as black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. The author presents and explains one of the most impressive scientific achievements of recent times: the first image of a supermassive black hole. Written by one of the key scientists involved in producing these results, you'll get a behind-the-scenes view of how the image was captured and discover what happens to matter and light near a black hole.

In Miletus, about 550 B.C., together with our world-picture cosmology was born. This book tells the story. In Part One the reader is introduced in the archaic world-picture of a flat earth with the cupola of the celestial vault onto whichthe celestial bodies are attached. One of the subjects treated in that context is the riddle of the tilted celestial axis. This part also contains an extensive chapter on archaic astronomical instruments.Part Twoshows how Anaximander (610-547 B.C.) blew up this archaic world-picture and replaced it by a new one that is essentially still ours. He taught that the celestial bodies orbit at different distances and that the earth floats unsupported in space. This makes him the founding father of cosmology.Part Threediscusses topics that completed the new picturedescribed by Anaximander. Special attention is paid to the confrontation between Anaxagoras and Aristotle on the question whether the earth is flat or spherical, and on the battlebetween Aristotle and Heraclides Ponticus on the question whether the universe is finite or infinite.

Due to its specific chemical and physical properties, water is essential for life on Earth. And it is assumed that this would be the case for extraterrestrial life as well. Therefore it is important to investigate where water can be found in the Universe. Although there are places that are completely dry, places where the last rainfall happened probably several 100 million years ago, surprisingly this substance is quite omnipresent. In the outer solar system the large satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered by a thick layer of ice that could be hiding a liquid ocean below. This of course brings up the question of whether the recently detected extrasolar planets could have some water on their surfaces and how we can detect this. Water molecules are also found in interstellar gas and dust clouds. This book begins with an introductory chapter reviewing the physical and chemical properties of water. Then it illuminates the apparent connection between water and life. This is followed by chapters dealing with our current knowledge of water in the solar system, followed by a discussion concerning the potential presence and possible detection of water on exoplanets. The signature of water in interstellar space and stars are reviewed before the origin of water in the Universe is finally discussed. The book ends with an appendix on detection methods, satellite missions and astrophysical concepts touched upon in the main parts of the book. The search for water in the Universe is related to the search for extraterrestrial life and is of fundamental importance for astrophysics, astrobiology and other related topics. This book therefore addresses students and researchers in these fields.

In the past decade, Paul Halpern has brought readers three stunning histories of science -- Einstein's Dice and Schroedinger's Cats, The Quantum Labyrinth, and Synchronicity -- that reveal the twisted, bizarre, and illuminating stories of physics' greatest thinkers and ideas. In Flashes of Creation, Halpern turns to what might be the biggest story of them all: the discovery of the origins of the universe and everything in it. Today, the Big Bang is so deeply entrenched in our understanding of the universe that to doubt it would seem crazy. And that is pretty much what has happened to the last major opponent of the theory, British astronomer Fred Hoyle. If anyone knows his name today, they probably think he went off the deep end-or at least was so very wrong for so long as to seem completely obtuse. But the hot-headed Hoyle saw himself as a crusader for physics, defending scientific progress from a band of charlatans. His doggedness was equalled by one man alone: Russian-American physicist George Gamow, who saw the idea of the Big Bang as essential to explaining where the Universe came from, and why it's full of the matter that surrounds us. The stakes were high! And the ensuing battle, waged in person and through the media over decades, was as fiery as the cosmic cataclysm the theory describes. Most of us might guess who turned out to be right (Gamow, mostly) and who noisily spun out of control as the evidence against his position mounted (Hoyle). Unfortunately for Hoyle, he is mostly remembered for giving the theory the silliest name he could think of: "The Big Bang." But as Halpern so eloquently demonstrates, even the greatest losers in physics -- including those who seem as foolish and ornery as Fred Hoyle -- have much to teach us, about boldness, imagination, and even the universe itself.

Manolis Plionis & Spiros Cotsakis plionis@sapfo. astro. noa. gr skot@aegean. gr Since the dawn of human civilisation natural phenomena have been subject to observation and investigation by the humans who initially ascribed to them 'divine' powers. Gods of 'good' and 'evil' werecreatedaccording to the useful- ness or notofsuch unexplained, atthetime, phenomena. Astheir understanding of the world developed and deepened, the divine powers, religious beliefs, su- perstitions and mysticism gave their place to the knowledge, limited that it may be, of physical reality. However, many issues have been and still are out of grasp of human understanding. These issues have always been at the center of philosophical, theological, and more recently, scientific debate. It is to us incredible that many of the conclusions concerning the true scientific explanation of the external world, to which the ancient Greeks arrived purely on the basis of abstract thought, came so near to modem scientific ideas and also form the basis of modem science. We cannot but stand with amazement at the original thoughts of Archimedes who, among his many extraordinary achieve- ments in mathematics and physics, calculated (cf. TheSandReckoner) the mass density of the observable universe and came up with a figure that is in complete agreement with current estimates coming from observational cosmology.

Cosmic masers, naturally occurring amplifiers of microwave emission from atoms and molecules in the Milky Way and other galaxies, provide important tools to investigate astrophysical environments. The first, hydroxyl (OH) masers were discovered in 1965 and since that time several thousand sources of maser emission, from a variety of cosmic molecules, have been discovered and studied. Because this natural emission occurs at discrete frequencies, which depend upon specific atomic or molecular transitions, masers are also useful for studying the structure and dynamics of our own galaxy. Masers in other galaxies are now used for cosmological studies of the dynamics of massive black holes in galactic nuclei and to directly measure the Hubble constant, H0. This volume contains a comprehensive, up-to-date review of cosmic masers, their nature, sources, environments and uses, as presented at IAU Symposium 287, the fourth international symposium on cosmic masers.

First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form 'black holes'; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of space-time curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general space-time, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past fifty years.

Bringing the material up to date, Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines, Second Edition captures the new ideas and discoveries made in physics since the publication of the best-selling first edition. While retaining the popular format and style of its predecessor, this edition explores the latest developments in high-energy astroparticle physics and Big Bang cosmology.

The book continues to make the ideas and theories of modern physics easily understood by anyone, from researchers to students to general science enthusiasts. Taking you on a journey through space and time, author Jim Al-Khalili covers some of the most fascinating topics in physics today, including:

• Black holes
• Space warps
• The Big Bang
• Time travel
• Wormholes
• Parallel universes

Professor Al-Khalili explains often complex scientific concepts in simple, nontechnical terms and imparts an appreciation of the cosmos, helping you see how time traveling may not be so far-fetched after all.

This book presents a new approach to the subject of cosmology. It fully exploits Einstein's theory of general relativity. It is found that the most general formal expression of the theory replaces the (10-component) tensor formalism with a (16-component) quaternion formalism. This leads to a unified field theory, where one field incorporates gravitation and electromagnetism. The theory predicts an oscillating universe cosmology with a spiral configuration. Dark matter is explained in terms of a sea of particle-antiparticle pairs, each in a particular (derived) ground state. This leads to an explanation for the separation between matter and antimatter in the universe. There is a brief discussion of black holes and pulsars. The final chapter delves into philosophical considerations such as the different types of 'truth', positivism versus realism and a discussion of the role of the Mach principle in physics and cosmology.

There are 'voids' obscuring all kinds of objects in the cosmos.Voids may be withinan object, or betweenan object and us. "Dark Nebulae, Dark Lanes, and Dust Lanes" looks out into the deep sky at those apparent darkregions in space, which are among the most compelling telescopic destinations for amateur observers.One famous example is Barnard's dark nebulae - those striking dark clouds set against the background of stars in the Milky Way. But there are countless other less well knownexamples.These dark regions are often ignored altogether or commented upon onlybriefly in astronomy books, and it is all too easy to overlook the treasure trove they offer the observer.

"Dark Nebulae, Dark Lanes, and DustLanes" is a great source of practical information for observers.Such voids may be successfully observed using conventional observing methods, but they are often far better seen with technologies such as light-pollution filters, CCD video cameras, and image intensifiers. This book explains the optimal ways to observe each object in detail."