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Our Implausible Universe
Carlos S. FRENK
University of Durham
Résumé :
Cosmology confronts some of the most fundamental questions in the whole of
science. How and when did our universe begin? What is it made of? How did it
acquire its current appearance? There has been enormous progress in the past
few years towards answering these questions.
For example, recent observations have established that our universe
contains an unexpected mix of components that include not only ordinary
atoms, but also exotic dark matter and a new form of
energy called dark energy. Gigantic surveys of galaxies like one recently
completed using the Anglo-Australian Telescope tell us how the universe is
structured. Large supercomputer simulations recreate the evolution of the
universe and provide the means to relate processes occuring near the beginning
of the Universe with the structures seen today.
A coherent picture of cosmic evolution, going back to about a micro-second
after the Big Bang, is beginning
to emerge. However, major issues, like the identity of the dark matter and the
nature of the dark energy, remain unresolved. These may have as yet
unsuspected consequences for fundamental physics.
