Cosmology and Astronomy
This is a collection of links to video lectures related to cosmology and astronomy from CERN. Topics covered in the talks include dark matter,
dark energy, black holes, astroparticle physics, cosmic microwave background, cosmic rays, and gravitational waves.
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Black Holes from Particle Physics Perspective |
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By Georgi Dvali, 2014. We review physics of black holes, both large and small, from a particle physicist's perspective, using particle physics tools for describing concepts such as entropy, temperature and quantum information processing. We also discuss microscopic picture of black hole formation in high energy particle scattering, potentially relevant for high energy accelerator experiments, and some differences and similarities with the signatures of other BSM physics. |
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Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays |
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By Maria Teresa Dova, 2012. The origin of the highest energy cosmic rays (UHECR) with energies above 1000 TeV, is still unknown. The discovery of their sources will reveal the engines of the most energetic astrophysical accelerators in the universe. In these lectures we present the recent observational results from HiRes, Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Observatory as well as (some of) the possible astrophysical origins of UHECR. ... |
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Particle Physics Foundations of Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Inflation |
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By Edward W. Kolb, 2012. Ninety-five percent of the present mass-energy density of the Universe is dark. Twenty-five percent is in the form of dark matter holding together galaxies and other large scale structures, and 70% is in the form of dark energy driving an accelerated expansion of the universe. Dark matter and dark energy cannot be explained within the standard model of particle physics. ... |
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Black Holes in the Cosmos, the Lab, and in Fundamental Physics |
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By Steve Giddings, 2010. Black holes present the extreme limits of physics. They are ubiquitous in the cosmos, and in some extra-dimensional scenarios they could be produced at colliders. They have also yielded a puzzle that challenges the foundations of physics. These talks will begin with an overview of the basics of black hole physics, and then briefly summarize some of the exciting developments with cosmic black holes. ... |
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Supernova explosions, black holes and neutron stars |
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By Adam Burrows, 2008. Modern supernova simulations suggest that one or more of three general classes of explosion mechanisms are employed by Nature to end the life of a massive star and to give birth to neutron stars and black holes. ... |
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A Dark Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy |
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By Edward W. Kolb, 2008. According to the standard cosmological model, 95% of the present mass density of the universe is dark: roughly 70% of the total in the form of dark energy and 25% in the form of dark matter. In a series of four lectures, I will begin by presenting a brief review of cosmology, and then I will review the observational evidence for dark matter and dark energy. ... |
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Particle Cosmology |
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By Dominik J. Schwarz, 2007. The understanding of the Universe at the largest and smallest scales traditionally has been the subject of cosmology and particle physics, respectively. Studying the evolution of the Universe connects today's large scales with the tiny scales in the very early Universe and provides the link between the physics of particles and of the cosmos. ... |
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Gravitational Waves Astronomy |
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By Michael R. Landry, 2006. In this three-part lecture series, we give an overview of the field, including material on gravitational wave sources, detection methods, some details of interferometric detectors, data analysis methods, and current results from observational data-taking runs of the LIGO and GEO projects. ... |
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Exploring Planets and Moons in our Solar System |
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By H. O. Rucker, 2006. The lecture series comprises 5 lectures starting with the interplanetary medium, the solar wind and its interaction with magnetized planets. Knowledge on the magnetically dominated 'spheres' around the Giant Planets have been obtained by the Grand Tour of both Voyager spacecraft to Jupiter, Saturn, with the continuation of Voyager 2 to Uranus, and Neptune, in the late seventies and eighties of last century. ... |
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Deep Space Telescopes |
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By G. Bignami, 2006. The short series of seminars will address results and aims of current and future space astrophysics as the cultural framework for the development of deep space telescopes. It will then present such new tools, as they are currently available to, or imagined by, the scientific community, in the context of the science plans of ESA and of all major world space agencies. ... |
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Surviving in space: the challenges of a manned mission to Mars |
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By L. Pinsky, 2005. Lectures: 1. Understanding the Space Radiation Environment; 2. Dosimetry and the Effects of the Exposure of Human Tissue to Heavily Ionizing Radiation; 3. Modelling the Interaction of the Space Radiation in Spacecraft & Humans, and Assessing the Risks on a Mission to Mars. ... |
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Cosmology for Particle Physicists |
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By S. Carroll, 2005. The past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. We know much about the universe, but understand very little. Open questions include the nature of the dark matter and dark energy, the origin of the matter/antimatter asymmetry, the possibility of inflation, and the role of string theory and extra dimensions in the early universe. ... |
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Astronomy from Space |
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By Thierry Courvoisier, 2005. In the very wide field of High Energy astrophysics we will select a number of topics that range from the source of radiative energy in the deep potential well around Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes and the basics of accretion disks around compact objects to the description and (where possible) the understanding of binary systems including a compact object (neutron star or black hole), of Active Galactic Nuclei and of gamma ray bursts. ... |
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Search for Dark Matter |
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By B. Sadoulet, 2004. In the first lecture, I will review the most recent cosmological evidence for the pervading dark matter in the universe and the emerging consensus that it is not ordinary matter. ... |
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The cosmic microwave background |
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By Mattias Zaldarriaga, 2004. The Cosmic Microwave Background has become an indispensable tool for cosmology. The measurement of its frequency spectrum firmly established the Hot Big Bang model of the Universe. Measurements of anisotropies in its temperature and its degree of polarization provide the earliest snapshot we have of the universe, giving us information about its state at the epoch of hydrogen recombination approximately 300,000 years after the Big Bang. ... |
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Gravitational Waves and Antennas |
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By E. Coccia, 2003. Gravitational waves and their detection represent today a hot topic, which promises to play a central role in astrophysics, cosmology and theoretical physics. Technological developments have enabled the construction of such sensitive detectors that the detection of gravitational radiation and the start of a new astronomy could become a reality during the next few years. ... |
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Introduction to General Relativity and Black Holes |
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By T. Damour, 2003. Physical motivation behind Einstein's theory. Mathematical formalism of General Relativity. Experimental confirmations of Einstein's theory. Introduction to Black Holes physics. ... |
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Cosmology: The Homogeneous Universe and the Evolution of Structures |
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By R. Durrer, 2003. In my course I will first give an introduction to standard cosmology. I discuss the equations of the homogeneous and isotropic universe and I'll briefly summarize its thermal history. After that I want to concentrate on the fluctuations in the universe. ... |
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Escaping in Extra Dimensions |
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By J. D. March-Russell, 2002. Recent progress in the formulation of fundamental theories for a Universe with more than 4 dimensions will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be given to theories predicting the existence of extra dimensions at distance scales within the reach of current or forthcoming experiments. ... |
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Cosmology and the Origin of Structure |
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By E. W. Kolb, 2002. There is now strong evidence that the rich and varied structure we see in the universe today in the form of stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, and even larger structures, grew from small primordial 'seeds' that were planted in the first second in the history of the universe. Lectures: 1. The observed universe; 2. The growth of cosmological structure; 3. Inflation and the origin of perturbations; 4. Dark matter and dark energy. ... |
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Astroparticle Physics |
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By Georg Raffelt, 1999. I will give a broad introduction to astroparticle physics, focusing in my five lectures on the following topics. 1, Astroparticle physics: Overview and highlights; 2, Dark matter: motivation, candidates and searches; 3, Neutrino astronomy: a new window to the universe; 4, Astrophysical and cosmological particle bounds; 5, The highest-energy cosmic rays: a new fundamental problem. ... |