How Well Do We Know Our Universe? by Jayant Narlikar

Overview

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Embark on a captivating journey through the history and evolution of our understanding of the universe in this thought-provoking colloquium. Explore ancient cosmological ideas, scientific revolutions, and modern theories as the speaker traces humanity's quest to comprehend the cosmos. Delve into topics such as the expanding universe, Big Bang theory, inflation, and dark matter while critically examining the current state of cosmology. Gain insights into the challenges and limitations of our current models, and consider the importance of remaining open to alternative cosmological ideas. Engage with complex concepts in astrophysics and cosmology, from ancient world views to cutting-edge theories in astroparticle physics, concluding with a stimulating Q&A session.

Syllabus

Date: Mon, 19 August 2019, 15:00 to
How well do we know our universe?
Some ancient ideas
The Norse World Tree
The hierarchical universe
Pythagorean Counter-Earth...
Enter...Science
The decreasing importance of Man on the Earth
A second demotion...?
Where is the Galactic Centre?
Is our Galaxy alone in the universe?
Are all these nebulae in the Galaxy?
Majority View as expressed by Agnes Clerk
The majority view turned out to be wrong: The Third Demotion!
Cosmological Revolution
Hubble's Law 1929
Standard Cosmology
Explanation of the expanding universe
All models predicted that the universe originated in a "Big Bang"
A Singular Beginning
What is Big Bang?
1946-48: George Gamow used the aspect of the early universe that it was very hot
The last scattering surface, however, places a limit on how far or how early a universe we can observe.
The very early universe
Time temperature/energy relationship
Astroparticle Physics
Inflation
Theories and Speculations
The status of inflation
Some epicycles of modern cosmology
If dark matter out to be wholly baryonic, it will pose problems for the big bang, e.g., too little primordial deuterium, large scale structure would create too large fluctuations today in the radiation background.
Emperor's New Clothes?
A plea to the cosmologists: Please treat the subject as open with some room for alternative ideas...
Q&A