Related papers: Precision Cosmology
Observational cosmology has indeed made very rapid progress in recent years. The ability to quantify the universe has largely improved due to observational constraints coming from structure formation. The transition to precision cosmology…
Cosmology is entering a very exciting time in its history, when a wealth of cutting-edge experiments are all starting to collect data, or about to. These experiments aim at addressing some of the most intriguing questions in fundamental…
The Universe on large scales is well described by the Lambda-CDM cosmological model. There however remain some heavy clouds on our global understanding, especially on galaxy scales, which we review here. While some of these clouds might…
This article briefly summarizes the increasingly precise observational estimates of the cosmological parameters. After three years on the stump, the Lambda-CDM model is still the leading candidate. Although the Universe is expanding, our…
The Cold Dark Matter model describes successfully our Universe on large scales, as has been verified by a wide range of observations. Nevertheless, in the last years, and especially with the advances in numerical simulations, a number of…
With the beginning of the XXIst century, a physical model of our Universe, usually called the Standard Cosmological Model (SCM), is reaching an important level of consolidation, based on accurate astrophysical data and also on theoretical…
Cosmology and particle physics are deeply interrelated. Among the common problems are dark energy, dark matter and baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We discuss these problems in general terms, and concentrate on several particular…
The comparison of the Standard Cosmological Model (SCM) with astronomical observations, i.e. theory versus experiment, and with the Minimal Standard Model (MSM) in particle physics, i.e. theory versus theory, is discussed. The main issue of…
The $\rm\Lambda$CDM cosmological model is remarkable: with just 6 parameters it describes the evolution of the Universe from a very early time when all structures were quantum fluctuations on subatomic scales to the present, and it is…
Cosmological observations offer unique and robust avenues for probing the fundamental nature of dark matter particles-they broadly test a range of compelling theoretical scenarios, often surpassing or complementing the reach of terrestrial…
Some remarkable examples of alternative cosmological theories are reviewed here, ranging from a compilation of variations on the Standard Model through the more distant quasi-steady-state cosmology, plasma cosmology, or universe models as a…
The hot big-bang cosmology provides a reliable accounting of the Universe from about $10^{-2}\sec$ after the bang until the present, as well as a robust framework for speculating back to times as early as $10^{-43}\sec$. Cosmology faces a…
The galaxy cluster power spectrum and mass/temperature functions are currently the most precise observational tools for constraining the theory of the formation of large scale structure (LSS) in the Universe. Complementing these tests by…
Observations of the cosmic microwave backgroundradiation are described to remarkable accuracy by the six-parameterLambda CDM cosmology. However, the key ingredients of this model, namely dark matter, dark energy and cosmic inflation are not…
The abundance of dark matter satellites and subhalos, the existence of density cusps at the centers of dark matter halos, and problems producing realistic disk galaxies in simulations are issues that have raised concerns about the viability…
The success of present and future cosmological studies is tied to the ability to detect discrepancies in complex data sets within the framework of a cosmological model. Tensions caused by the presence of unknown systematic effects need to…
There is a deep cosmological mystery: although dependent on very different underlying physics, the timescales of structure formation, of galaxy cooling (both radiatively and against the CMB), and of vacuum domination do not differ by many…
The cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model has been remarkably successful in explaining cosmic structure over an enormous span of redshift, but it has faced persistent challenges from observations that probe the innermost regions of dark…
The abundance of dark matter satellites and subhalos, the existence of density cusps at the centers of dark matter halos, and problems producing realistic disk galaxies in simulations are issues that have raised concerns about the viability…
The observational evidence for the acceleration of the universe demonstrates that canonical theories of gravitation and particle physics are incomplete, if not incorrect. A new generation of astronomical facilities will shortly be able to…