Related papers: Astrophysics in 2005
Gamma-Ray Bursts represent unique tools to study the early phases of cosmic evolution, the formation of the first stars and galaxies. Absorption line spectra of these sources located in the Epoch of Reionization might provide us with key…
This Meeting featured the recent advancements in our understanding of galaxy clusters and the distant Universe, achieved by the past and new generation of X-ray satellites. I summarize here the main themes that have been discussed: (a)…
Modern astrophysics, especially at GeV energy scales and above is a typical example where several disciplines meet: The location and distribution of the sources is the domain of astronomy. At distances corresponding to significant redshift…
The good agreement between large-scale observations and the predictions of the now-standard $\Lambda$CDM theory gives us hope that this will become a lasting foundation for cosmology. After briefly reviewing the current status of the key…
While purely philosophical in the early times, and still very speculative at the beginning of the twentieth century, Cosmology has gradually entered into the realm of experimental science over the past eighty years. It has raised some…
The dramatic confrontation between new observations and theories of the early and recent universe makes cosmology one of the most rapidly advancing fields in the physical sciences. The universe is a unique laboratory in which to probe…
For two decades the hot big-bang model has 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 addressed by the standard cosmology and…
Successfully launched in June 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly named GLAST, has been observing the high-energy gamma-ray sky with unprecedented sensitivity for more than two years, opening a new window on a wide variety…
Here I indulge in wide-ranging speculations on the shape of physics, and technology closely related to physics, over the next one hundred years. Themes include the many faces of unification, the re-imagining of quantum theory, and new forms…
The standard big bang cosmological model and the history of the early universe according to the grand unified theories of strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions are summarized. The shortcomings of big bang are discussed together with…
One of the major goals of observational cosmology is to acquire empirical data that has the diagnostic power to develop the theoretical modelling of the high-redshift universe, ultimately leading to an accurate understanding of the…
I discuss some aspects of the evolution of the standard GRB model, emphasizing various theoretical developments in the last decade, and review the impact of some of the most recent observational discoveries and the new challenges they pose…
Recently the anisotropy of the short gamma-ray bursts detected by BATSE was announced (Vavrek et al. 2008). The impact of this discovery on cosmology is discussed. It is shown that the anisotropy found may cause the breakdown of the…
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), in its thirteen years of operation, has allowed us to observe properties of the universe humans have been able, until very recently, to probe only with their thoughts. This review presents a brief summary…
The galaxies hosting the most energetic explosions in the universe, the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), are generally found to be low-mass, metal poor, blue and star forming galaxies. However, the majority of the targets investigated so far (less…
The formation and evolution of galaxies and other astrophysical objects have become of great interest, especially since the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021. The mass, size, and density of objects in the early universe…
A brief review of the present-day development of cosmology is presented for mixed physical audience. The universe history is briefly described. Unsolved problems are discussed, in particular, the mystery of the cosmological constant and…
In the first Lecture, the Big Bang and the Standard Model of particle physics are introduced, as well as the structure of the latter and open issues beyond it. Neutrino physics is discussed in the second Lecture, with emphasis on models for…
In the past few years gamma-ray astronomy has entered a golden age. A modern suite of telescopes is now scanning the sky over both hemispheres and over six orders of magnitude in energy. At $\sim$TeV energies, only a handful of sources were…
These lectures summarize our basic understanding of the emergence of cosmic structures, the epoch of first light, the survival of early substructure in present-day galaxy halos.