Physics Colloquium: The "Standard" Model of Cosmology ... and Open Questions

Thursday, February 1, 2018

3:30 PM-4:30 PM

Bharat Ratra, PhD, Kansas State University

Experiments and observations over the last two decades have provided strong support for a "standard" model of cosmology that describes the evolution of the universe from an early epoch of inflation to the complex hierarchy of structure seen today. I review the basic physics, astronomy, and history of ideas on which this model is based. I describe the data which persuade cosmologists that (as yet undetected) dark energy and dark matter are by far the main components of the energy budget of the universe. I conclude with a list of open cosmological questions.

Contact Information

Professor Michael Vogeley
vogeley@drexel.edu