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We typically observe large-scale outcomes that arise from the interactions of many hidden, small-scale processes. Examples include age of disease onset, rates of amino acid substitutions, and composition of ecological communities. The…
The notion of ``fundamental constant'' is heavily theory-laden. A natural, fairly precise formulation is possible in the context of the standard model (here defined to include gravity). Some fundamental constants have profound geometric…
Recently, several broad classes of inflationary models have been discovered whose cosmological predictions are stable with respect to significant modifications of the inflaton potential. Some classes of models are based on a non-minimal…
Gravitation is described in the context of a dilatonic theory that is conformally related to general relativity. All dimensionless ratios of fundamental dimensional quantities, e.g. particle masses and the Planck mass, as well as the…
The nature of gravity is fundamental to our understanding of our own solar system, the galaxy and the structure and evolution of the Universe. Einstein's general theory of relativity is the standard model that is used for almost ninety…
A formalism is presented to construct a non-perturbative Grand Unified Theory when gravitational Planck-scale phenomena are included. The fundamental object on the Planck scale is the three-torus T^3 from which the known properties of…
We consider the properties of an ensemble of universes as function of size, where size is defined in terms of the asymptotic value of the Hubble constant (or, equivalently, the value of the cosmological constant). We assume that standard…
We present gravitation as a theory in which the coordinates are distances and velocities between galaxies. We show that there are three possibilities for the Universe to expand: decelerating, constant and accelerating, and it is shown that…
We provide an informal discussion of pattern formation in a finite universe. The global size and shape of the universe is revealed in the pattern of hot and cold spots in the cosmic microwave background. Topological pattern formation can be…
For two decades the hot big-bang model as been referred to as the standard cosmology -- and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not answered by the standard cosmology and…
After 45 years since the discovery of quantum-gravitational birth of the cosmological density perturbations we can try to answer the main question of cosmology what is the origin of the Universe. This has become possible because the…
This chapter aims to present an introduction to current research on the nature of the cosmological dark matter and the origin of galaxies and large scale structure within the standard theoretical framework: gravitational collapse of…
The physical processes that determine the properties of our everyday world, and of the wider cosmos, are determined by some key numbers: the 'constants' of micro-physics and the parameters that describe the expanding universe in which we…
An orbiting object in a gas rich environment creates a gravitational density wake containing information about the object and its orbit. Using linear perturbation theory, we analyze the observable properties of the gravitational wake due to…
The aim of this paper is to show, that the 'oscillating universe' is a viable alternative to inflation. We remind that this model provides a natural solution to the flatness or entropy and to the horizon problem of standard cosmology. We…
It is shown that gravitation naturally emerges from the standard model of particle physics if local scale invariance is imposed in the context of a single conformal (Weyl-symmetric) theory. Gravitation is then conformally-related to the…
Using basic physical arguments, we derive by dimensional and physical analysis the characteristic masses and sizes of important objects in the Universe in terms of just a few fundamental constants. This exercise illustrates the unifying…
General relativity predicts a singularity in the beginning of the universe being called big bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology avoid the singularity and the big bang is replaced by a big bounce. A classical theory of…
Five fundamental scales of mass follow from holographic limitations, a self-similar law for angular momentum and the basic scaling laws for a fractal universe with dimension 2. The five scales correspond to the observable universe,…
Globally disruptive events include asteroid/comet impacts, large igneous provinces and glaciations, all of which have been considered as contributors to mass extinctions. Understanding the overall relationship between the timings of the…