Related papers: The very early Universe
Assuming that the background geometry is filled with free gas consisting of matter and radiation and no phase transitions being occurred in the early Universe, we discuss the thermodynamics of this {\it closed} system using classical…
Recent developments in the study of primordial black holes (PBHs) will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on their formation and evaporation. PBHs could provide a unique probe of the early Universe, gravitational collapse, high energy…
In order to account for the observable Universe, any comprehensive theory or model of cosmology must draw from many disciplines of physics, including gauge theories of strong and weak interactions, the hydrodynamics and microphysics of…
The inflationary scenario has become the paradigm of early universe cosmology, and - in conjuction with ideas from superstring theory - has led to speculations about an "inflationary multiverse". From a point of view of phenomenology, the…
One of the main challenges in cosmology is to quantify how small density fluctuations at the recombination epoch z around 1000 evolved into the galaxies and the large-scale structure we observe in the universe today. This thesis discusses…
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…
It is pointed out that the observed extremely high energy cosmic rays (EHECR) above $10^{11}$ GeV and the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU), both may have a common origin in baryon number violating decays of supermassive ``X''…
Most current cosmological models of the very early universe are based on local point particle effective field theories coupled to gravity. I will discuss some conceptual limitations of this approach and argue that an improved description of…
I review in these lectures our present understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe, making emphasis on the most recent observations of the acceleration of the universe, the precise measurements of the microwave background…
Over the past three years we have determined the basic features of our Universe. It is spatially flat; accelerating; comprised of 1/3 a new form of matter, 2/3 a new form of energy, with some ordinary matter and a dash of massive neutrinos;…
The standard theory of cosmic structure formation posits that the present-day rich structure of the Universe developed through gravitational amplification of tiny matter density fluctuations generated in its very early history. Recent…
The changes of main paradigms on the structure and evolution of the Universe are reviewed. Two puzzles of the modern cosmology, the mean density of matter and the regularity of the Universe on large scales, as well as the possibility to…
Our current understanding of the Universe is established through the pristine measurements of structure in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the distribution and shapes of galaxies tracing the large scale structure (LSS) of the…
The topological defect scenario of origin of the observed highest energy cosmic rays is reviewed. Under a variety of circumstances, topological defects formed in the early Universe can be sources of very massive particles in the Universe…
This is the report of the {\em Working Group on Early Universe Cosmology and Tests of Fundamental Physics}, group P4.8 of the of the Snowmass 2001 conference. Here we summarize the impressive array of advances that have taken place in this…
The observable universe is fundamentally inhomogeneous and anisotropic. Quantum description of the generation of these inhomogeneities and anisotropies is ill-understood and unsatisfactory. After providing a brief account of the standard…
These four lectures cover four topics in modern cosmology: the cosmological constant, the cosmic microwave background, inflation, and cosmology as a probe of physics at the Planck scale. The underlying theme is that cosmology gives us a…
The origin of observed extremely high energy cosmic rays remains an astrophysical enigma. We show that a single evaporating primordial black hole should produce 8.5*10^14 particles over a 10^20 eV threshold. This emission results from…
A short introduction to structure formation is given, followed by a discussion of the possible characteristics of the initial perturbations assuming a generic inflationary origin. Observational data related to large-scale structure and the…
Cosmic ray particles with energies in excess of 10**(20) eV have been detected. The sources as well as the physical mechanism(s) responsible for endowing cosmic ray particles with such enormous energies are unknown. This report gives a…