Related papers: Precision Cosmology: Successes and Challenges
Galaxy formation is at the forefront of observation and theory in cosmology. An improved understanding is essential for improving our knowledge both of the cosmological parameters, of the contents of the universe, and of our origins. In…
I review briefly different aspects of the MOND paradigm, with emphasis on phenomenology, epitomized here by many MOND laws of galactic motion--analogous to Kepler's laws of planetary motion. I then comment on the possible roots of MOND in…
The late time acceleration of the Universe has challenged contemporary cosmology since its discovery. General Relativity explains this phenomenon by introducing the cosmological constant, named the standard cosmological model…
The old dream of integrating into one the study of micro and macrocosmos is now a reality. Cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics intersect in a scenario (but still not a theory) of cosmic structure formation and evolution called…
(Abridged) Fundamental tensions between observations and dark-matter based cosmological models have emerged. This updated review has two purposes: to explore new tensions that have arisen in recent years, compounding the unresolved tensions…
These lectures cover various aspects of the statistical description of cosmological density fields. Observationally, this consists of the point process defined by galaxies, and the challenge is to relate this to the continuous density field…
The cold dark matter paradigm has been extremely successful for explaining a wide range of cosmological phenomena. Nevertheless, since evidence for non-baryonic dark matter remains indirect, all reasonable alternatives should be explored.…
I discuss the classical cosmological tests-- angular size-redshift, flux-redshift, and galaxy number counts-- in the light of the cosmology prescribed by the intepretation of CMB anisotropies. The discussion is somewhat of a primer for…
In Logik der Forschung and later works, Karl Popper proposed a set of methodological rules for scientists. Among these were requirements that theories evolve in the direction of increasing content, and that new theories should only be…
Galaxies are the basic structural element of the universe; galaxy formation theory seeks to explain how these structures came to be. I trace some of the foundational ideas in galaxy formation, with emphasis on the need for non-baryonic cold…
A wide range of large scale observations hint towards possible modifications on the standard cosmological model which is based on a homogeneous and isotropic universe with a small cosmological constant and matter. These observations, also…
Cosmology has entered an era of unprecedented precision, yet increasing accuracy has revealed cracks in the standard $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. Although the model remains highly successful when confronted with individual datasets, joint…
The paradigm of \Lambda CDM cosmology works impressively well and with the concept of inflation it explains the universe after the time of decoupling. However there are still a few concerns; after much effort there is no detection of dark…
Numerous astrophysical observations have shown that classical Newtonian dynamics fails on galactic scales and beyond, if only visible matter is taken into account. The two most popular theoretical concepts dealing with this problem are Dark…
We discuss a comparison of models for the formation of disk galaxies both in a Universe dominated by cold dark matter (CDM) and one in which the force law is given by modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). Our main aim is to address the claim…
As we now know, there are indeed at least two major difficulties with General Relativity (GR). The first one is related with its incompatibility with quantum mechanics, in the absence of a widely accepted consistent theory that combines the…
(Abridged) Cosmology faces three distinct challenges in the next decade. (1) The dark sector, both dark matter and dark energy, dominates the Universe. Key questions include determining the nature of both. Improved observational probes are…
The idea of a negative-pressure dark energy component in the Universe which causes an accelerated expansion in the late Universe has deep implications in models of field theory and general relativity. In this article, we survey the evidence…
These lectures describe how the Standard Model of cosmology ($\Lambda$CDM) has developped, based on observational facts but also on ideas formed in the context of the theory of fundamental interactions, both gravitational and…
While the LCDM framework has been incredibly successful for modern cosmology, it requires the admission of two mysterious substances as a part of the paradigm, dark energy and dark matter. Although this framework adequately explains most of…