Beginning with the famous Olber's paradox, a number of cosmological paradoxes, such as the missing mass, dark energy, and the baryon-to-photon ratio, have been and are today the subject of many scientific controversies. The Big Bang model, anticipated by Lemaitre in 1927 and reformulated twenty years later by Gamow, Alpher and Herman, is one of the most spectacular successes in the entire history of physics. It remains today surrounded by considerable theoretical speculation without sufficient observational support.

This book discusses such paradoxes in depth with physical and logical content and historical perspective, and has not much technical content in order to serve a wide audience.

Roger Penrose, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, presents the only comprehensive and comprehensible account of the physics of the universe. From the very first attempts by the Greeks to grapple with the complexities of our known world to the latest application of infinity in physics, "The Road to Reality" carefully explores the movement of the smallest atomic particles and reaches into the vastness of intergalactic space. Here, Penrose examines the mathematical foundations of the physical universe, exposing the underlying beauty of physics and giving us one the most important works in modern science writing.

This book is written from the viewpoint of a deep connection between cosmology and particle physics. It presents the results and ideas on both the homogeneous and isotropic Universe at the hot stage of its evolution and in later stages. The main chapters describe in a systematic and pedagogical way established facts and concepts on the early and the present Universe. The comprehensive treatment, hence, serves as a modern introduction to this rapidly developing field of science. To help in reading the chapters without having to constantly consult other texts, essential materials from General Relativity and the theory of elementary particles are collected in the appendices. Various hypotheses dealing with unsolved problems of cosmology, and often alternative to each other, are discussed at a more advanced level. These concern dark matter, dark energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry, etc.

Primordial Cosmology deals with one of the most puzzling and fascinating topics debated in modern physics - the nature of the Big Bang singularity. The authors provide a self-consistent and complete treatment of the very early Universe dynamics, passing through a concise discussion of the Standard Cosmological Model, a precise characterization of the role played by the theory of inflation, up to a detailed analysis of the anisotropic and inhomogeneous cosmological models. The most peculiar feature of this book is its uniqueness in treating advanced topics of quantum cosmology with a well-traced link to more canonical and pedagogical notions of fundamental cosmology.This book traces clearly the backward temporal evolution of the Universe, starting with the Robertson-Walker geometry and ending with the recent results of loop quantum cosmology in view of the Big Bounce. The reader is accompanied in this journey by an initial technical presentation which, thanks to the fundamental tools given earlier in the book, never seems heavy or obscure.

This book is written from the viewpoint of a deep connection between cosmology and particle physics. It presents the results and ideas on both the homogeneous and isotropic Universe at the hot stage of its evolution and in later stages. The main chapters describe in a systematic and pedagogical way established facts and concepts on the early and the present Universe. The comprehensive treatment, hence, serves as a modern introduction to this rapidly developing field of science. To help in reading the chapters without having to constantly consult other texts, essential materials from General Relativity and the theory of elementary particles are collected in the appendices. Various hypotheses dealing with unsolved problems of cosmology, and often alternative to each other, are discussed at a more advanced level. These concern dark matter, dark energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry, etc.

This extensive thesis work covers several topics, including intensity and polarization, focusing on a new polarization bias reduction method. Vidal studied data from the WMAP satellite, which is low signal-to-noise and as such has to be corrected for polarization bias. He presents a new method for correcting the data, based on knowledge of the underlying angle of polarization. Using this novel method, he sets upper limits for the polarization fraction of regions known to emit significant amounts of spinning dust emissions. He also studies the large-scale loops and filaments that dominate the synchrotron sky. The dominant features are investigated, including identification of several new features. For the North Polar Spur, a model of an expanding shell in the vicinity of the Sun is tested, which appears to fit the data. Implications for CMB polarization surveys are also discussed. In addition, Vidal presents interferometric observations of the dark cloud LDN 1780 at 31 GHz and shows that the spinning dust hypothesis can explain the radio properties observed.

This book discusses the state of the art of the basic theoretical and observational topics related to black hole astrophysics. It covers all the main topics in this wide field, from the theory of accretion disks and formation mechanisms of jet and outflows, to their observed electromagnetic spectrum, and attempts to measure the spin of these objects. Black holes are one of the most fascinating predictions of general relativity and are currently a very hot topic in both physics and astrophysics. In the last five years there have been significant advances in our understanding of these systems, and in the next five years it should become possible to use them to test fundamental physics, in particular to predict the general relativity in the strong field regime. The book is both a reference work for researchers and a textbook for graduate students.

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.

Is the universe designed for life? Physicists have discovered that many seemingly unconnected phenomena, which took place millions of years apart, played a crucial role in the development of life on Earth. Does such evidence reveal a purpose behind the order of the universe?
NASA senior research scientist Carlos I. Calle explores this tantalizing question and many more in this wide-ranging introduction to the very latest and sundry theories about the origins and evolution of the enormous cosmos. From the big bang to the possibility of a "big crunch" he renders the complexities of theoretical physics beautifully lucid for the lay reader.
Calle begins by reviewing the milestones of 20th-century astrophysics: the confirmation of the big bang theory in the 1960s by the discovery of cosmic background radiation; the inflationary theory of universe expansion, which NASA observations have recently confirmed; the formulation of the essential laws of physics that govern the unfolding of all physical processes, from subatomic fluctuations to the formation of galaxies; and physicists' attempts to unify all the forces of nature.
Now, at the start of the 21st century, questions have been raised about the origins of the laws of physics. Do they suggest a Grand Designer, or is their existence a natural outcome of some automatic process? Calle lays out the cosmological models based on M-theory, which suggests that our particular universe may be one of an unimaginable number of universes, each with its own set of physical laws. According to one of the most promising models, the big bang may not be the moment of creation but the bridge to a past filled with endless cycles of universe creation and destruction.
Calle also provides an exciting look at Stephen Hawking's fascinating proposal that the universe had no origin--and that present-day observers may influence the very nature of reality.
Did the universe require a prime mover--the Grand Designer--to create the planets, the stars, and the galaxies? The Universe--Order without Design will give you plenty of food for thought.

Everyone knows that there are things no one can see, for example, the air you're breathing or a black hole, to be more exotic. But not everyone knows that what we can see makes up only 5 percent of the Universe. The rest is totally invisible to us.

The invisible stuff comes in two varieties--dark matter and dark energy. One holds the Universe together while the other tears it apart. What these forces really are has been a mystery for as long as anyone has suspected they were there, but the latest discoveries of experimental physics have brought us closer to that knowledge. Particle physicist Dan Hooper takes his readers, with wit, grace, and a keen knack for explaining the toughest ideas science has to offer, on a quest few would ever have expected: to discover what makes up our dark cosmos.

Why should there be anything at all? Why, in particular, should a material world exist? Bede Rundle advances clear, non-technical answers to these perplexing questions. If, as the theist maintains, God is a being who cannot but exist, his existence explains why there is something rather than nothing. However, this can also be explained on the basis of a weaker claim. Not that there is some particular being that has to be, but simply that there has to be something or other. Rundle proffers arguments for thinking that that is indeed how the question is to be put to rest. Traditionally, the existence of the physical universe is held to depend on God, but the theist faces a major difficulty in making clear how a being outside space and time, as God is customarily conceived to be, could stand in an intelligible relation to the world, whether as its creator or as the author of events within it. Rundle argues that a creator of physical reality is not required, since there is no alternative to its existence. There has to be something, and a physical universe is the only real possibility. He supports this claim by eliminating rival contenders; he dismisses the supernatural, and argues that, while other forms of being, notably the abstract and the mental, are not reducible to the physical, they presuppose its existence. The question whether ultimate explanations can ever be given is forever in the background, and the book concludes with an investigation of this issue and of the possibility that the universe could have existed for an infinite time. Other topics discussed include causality, space, verifiability, essence, existence, necessity, spirit, fine tuning, and laws of Nature. Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing offers an explanation of fundamental facts of existence in purely philosophical terms, without appeal either to theology or cosmology. It will provoke and intrigue anyone who wonders about these questions.

The universe has many secrets. It may hide additional dimensions of space other than the familier three we recognize. There might even be another universe adjacent to ours, invisible and unattainable . . . for now.

Warped Passages is a brilliantly readable and altogether exhilarating journey that tracks the arc of discovery from early twentieth-century physics to the razor's edge of modern scientific theory. One of the world's leading theoretical physicists, Lisa Randall provides astonishing scientific possibilities that, until recently, were restricted to the realm of science fiction. Unraveling the twisted threads of the most current debates on relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity, she explores some of the most fundamental questions posed by Nature&#8212taking us into the warped, hidden dimensions underpinning the universe we live in, demystifying the science of the myriad worlds that may exist just beyond our own.

Cosmology and theology share a long held relationship with one another, explaining as they do the constitution of the World and the interaction of forces. The author explores the history of this relationship, from ancient pre-scientific and theological, explanations through to contemporary science and philosophy. In this history, a particular problem is highlighted by the author: the prevalence of dualism; from Aristotelian philosophy to modern mechanistic conceptions, many of these accounts presume a sharp, absolute dichotomy between matter and spirit, and the material world and the divine. Increasingly, dualistic conceptions are called into question by contemporary science, theology, and philosophy. The author argues that a particular trajectory stemming from Greek Heraclitian and Platonic philosophy to non-orthodox and early Christian theologies provides a fruitful resource for contemporary discussions. This is the Logos theology and its attendant language of light. The author brings this tradition into dialogue with contemporary science and theology to construct an integrative account.

Based on material delivered at several summer schools, this book is the first comprehensive textbook at the graduate level encompassing all aspects associated with the emerging field of astrobiology.

Volume II gathers another set of extensive lectures covering topics so diverse as the formation and the distribution of elements in the universe, the concept of habitability from both the planetologists' and the biologists' point of view and artificial life. The contributions are held together by the common goal to understand better the origin of life, its evolution and possible existence outside the Earth's realm.
The volume ends with 120 pages of a very useful appendix comprising "Some Astrophysical Reminders," "Useful Astrobiological Data" and "An Astrobiological Glossary."

This is the largest and most comprehensive atlas of the universe ever created for amateur astronomers. With finder charts of unprecedented detail, in both normal and mirror-image views, and an extensive list of 14,000 objects, it provides a detailed observing guide for almost any practical amateur astronomer, up to the most advanced. Spanning some 3,000 pages, this is a project that is possible only on CD-ROM. The CD-R pages are extensively indexed and referenced for quick location of objects. The accompanying book gives an introduction to the Atlas, showcases the maps, describes the CD-R content and organization, and includes various appendices.

The goal of the Daniel Chalonge School on Astrofundamental Physics is to contribute to a theory of the universe (and particularly of the early universe) up to the marks, and at the scientific height of, the unprecedented accuracy, existent and expected, in the observational data. The impressive development of modern cosmology during the last decades is to a large extent due to its unification with elementary particle physics and quantum field theory. The cross-section between these fields has been increasing setting up Astrofundamental Physics. The early universe is an exceptional (theoretical and experimental) laboratory in this new discipline. This NATO Advanced Study Institute provided an up dated understanding, from a fundamental physics and deep point of view, of the progress and key issues in the early universe and the cosmic microwave background: theory and observations. The genuine interplay with large scale structure formation and dark matter problem were discussed. The central focus was placed on the cosmic microwave background. Emphasis was given to the precise inter-relation between fundamental physics and cosmology in these problems, both at the theoretical and experimental/observational levels, within a deep and well defined programme which provided in addition, a careful interdisciplinarity. Special sessions were devoted to high energy cosmic rays, neutrinos in astrophysics, and high energy astrophysics. Deep understanding, clarification, synthesis, careful interdisciplinarity within a fundamental physics framework, were the main goals of the course.

This is a substantially revised and updated new edition of a classic introductory textbook. Although there are a wealth of cosmology texts at postgraduate level, 'Cosmology' remains the classic introduction to modern cosmology for undergraduates. While designed as the main text for a course given at second or third year level, it is sufficiently self-contained for anyone with school science to understand. There is a strong emphasis on observational cosmology, with introductory chapters on the visible universe, our galaxy and other galaxies and the empirical basis for cosmological theory. After an account of the big bang model, there are chapters on the early stages of the big bang and galaxy formation. Finally, there are chapters on cosmological tests and on alternative theories. One feature of the book is its updated epilogue of twenty controversies in cosmology today. The latest results from the WMAP mission are included and a wealth of new material, including a stronger emphasis on the cosmological constant. It has an extensive glossary and the exercises have been substantially expanded. A stronger emphasis on the physical basis for cosmology is included throughout.

This thesis explores advanced Bayesian statistical methods for extracting key information for cosmological model selection, parameter inference and forecasting from astrophysical observations. Bayesian model selection provides a measure of how good models in a set are relative to each other - but what if the best model is missing and not included in the set? Bayesian Doubt is an approach which addresses this problem and seeks to deliver an absolute rather than a relative measure of how good a model is. Supernovae type Ia were the first astrophysical observations to indicate the late time acceleration of the Universe - this work presents a detailed Bayesian Hierarchical Model to infer the cosmological parameters (in particular dark energy) from observations of these supernovae type Ia.

Systematically explores the early origins and basic definition of life.

Investigates the major theories of the origins of life in light of modern research with the aim of distinguishing between the necessary and the optional and between deterministic and random influences in the emergence of what we call life.

Treats and views life as a cosmic phenomenon whose emergence and driving force should be viewed independently from its Earth-bound natural history.

Synthesizes all the fundamental life-related developments in a comprehensive scenario, and makes the argument that understanding life in its broadest context requires a material-independent perspective that identifies its essential fingerprints

Cosmology in Scalar-Tensor Gravity covers all aspects of cosmology in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Considerable progress has been made in this exciting area of physics and this book is the first to provide a critical overview of the research. Among the topics treated are:
-Scalar-tensor gravity and its limit to general relativity,
-Effective energy-momentum tensors and conformal frames,
-Gravitational waves in scalar-tensor cosmology,
-Specific scalar-tensor theories,
-Exact cosmological solutions and cosmological perturbations,
-Scalar-tensor scenarios of the early universe and inflation,
-Scalar-tensor models of quintessence in the present universe and their far-reaching consequences for the ultimate fate of the cosmos.

The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the evolution of astronomical ideas, touching only lightly on most of the instrumental developments. Richly illustrated, the book starts with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian philosophers, moves on to the Greek period and then on to the golden age of astronomy, that of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Finally, Pecker concludes with modern theories of cosmology. Written with astronomy undergraduates in mind, this is a fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.

Cool commentary on current human peccadilloes MACROSCOPIC TOPICS Toe-holds on the slopes of the MATTERHORN of Human Maturation. It is a struggle for each human to make the long climb from infancy through adulthood to the final quietus. These topics do not pretend to tell any one human how to live their life; they only try to encourage thinking on the various phases. EXX-RAYS FROM THE AGING CAGE Visions from the good and productive side of growing older. The purpose in these visions is to throw some light on the need for a positive attitude. Exercise for the brain keeps major negatives outside the cage. Together with appropriate physical initiatives that make sure the mental walls are free from sealed cage doors. COSMIC CYBERTREKS Explorations in the mega void of the universe ... a challenge. Time is eternal, and space is infinite in the cosmos. In terms of measuring events in the universe, where occurrences are matured over many millions of years, using Earth's rules as a guide for establishing cosmic laws is an invisible drop of spit in the seas. The trek experiences are fascinating and challenge accepted dogma for so many concepts of what is logical out in the void.

Eclipses have long been seen as important celestial phenomena, whether as omens affecting the future of kingdoms, or as useful astronomical events to help in deriving essential parameters for theories of the motion of the moon and sun. This is the first book to collect together all presently known records of timed eclipse observations and predictions from antiquity to the time of the invention of the telescope. In addition to cataloguing and assessing the accuracy of the various records, which come from regions as diverse as Ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Europe, the sources in which they are found are described in detail. Related questions such as what type of clocks were used to time the observations, how the eclipse predictions were made, and how these prediction schemes were derived from the available observations are also considered. The results of this investigation have important consequences for how we understand the relationship between observation and theory in early science and the role of astronomy in early cultures, and will be of interest to historians of science, astronomers, and ancient and medieval historians.

The amount of cosmological data has dramatically increased in the past decades due to an unprecedented development of telescopes, detectors and satellites. Efficiently handling and analysing new data of the order of terabytes per day requires not only computer power to be processed but also the development of sophisticated algorithms and pipelines.
Aiming at students and researchers the lecture notes in this volume explain in pedagogical manner the best techniques used to extract information from cosmological data, as well as reliable methods that should help us improve our view of the universe.