The concept of time has fascinated humanity throughout recorded history, and it remains one of the biggest mysteries in science and philosophy. Time is clearly one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe and thus a deeper understanding of nature at a fundamental level also demands a comprehension of time. Furthermore, the origins of the universe are closely intertwined with the puzzle of time: Did time emerge at the Big Bang? Why does the arrow of time 'conspire' with the order of the initial state of the universe? This book addresses many of the most important questions about time: What is time, and is it fundamental or emergent? Why is there such an arrow of time, closely related to the initial state of the universe, and why do the cosmic, thermodynamic and other arrows agree? These issues are discussed here by leading experts, and each offers a new perspective on the debate. Their contributions delve into the most difficult research topic in physics, also describing the latest cutting edge research on the subject. The book also offers readers a comparison between the different outlooks of philosophy, physics and cosmology on the puzzle of time. This volume is intended to be useful for research purposes, but most chapters are also accessible to a more general audience of scientifically educated readers looking for deeper insights.

The concept of time has fascinated humanity throughout recorded history, and it remains one of the biggest mysteries in science and philosophy. Time is clearly one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe and thus a deeper understanding of nature at a fundamental level also demands a comprehension of time. Furthermore, the origins of the universe are closely intertwined with the puzzle of time: Did time emerge at the Big Bang? Why does the arrow of time 'conspire' with the order of the initial state of the universe?

This book addressesmany ofthe most important questions about time: What is time, and is it fundamental or emergent? Why is there such an arrow of time, closely related to the initial state of the universe, and why do the cosmic, thermodynamic and other arrows agree? These issues are discussed here by leading experts, and each offers a new perspective on the debate. Their contributions delve into the most difficult research topic in physics, also describing the latest cutting edge research on the subject. The book also offers readers a comparison between the different outlooks of philosophy, physics and cosmology on the puzzle of time.

This volume is intended to be useful for research purposes, but most chapters are also accessible to a more general audience of scientifically educated readers looking for deeper insights.

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The Big Bang model is now both theoretically and empirically well established, although it does not explain the mystery of the very beginning of our universe. Over recent years, however, new developments open up the exciting prospect of going "beyond" the Big Bang and even of finding a physical explanation for it. Surprisingly, the ancient idea of a past-eternal universe is being revived, but a variety of other fascinating new approaches -- from the Holographic Universe to Cosmic Natural Selection -- are also being pursued. This book provides an up-to-date overview of each of these competing scenarios with original contributions from the world's leading researchers in cosmology, who describe their own work and results in a manner understandable even to non-specialists. "The stellar line-up of contributors to this volume are working at the cutting edge of cosmological research, and are poised to take our understanding of the universe beyond the big bang into an even stranger realm." - Paul Davies. "This book provides a wonderful overview of current ideas on these ultimate cosmic questions, written by scientists working at the forefront of cosmological research."-- Alex Vilenkin.