| ID | 134922 |
| Title Proper | Cosmology today |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Spergel, David N |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | We seem to live in a simple but strange universe. Our basic cosmological model fits a host of astronomical observations with only five basic parameters: the age of the universe, the density of atoms, the density of matter, the initial “lumpiness” of the universe, and a parameter that describes whether this lumpiness is more pronounced on smaller physical scales. Our observations of the cosmic microwave background fluctuations determine these parameters with uncertainties of only 1 to 2 percent. The same model also provides an excellent fit to the large-scale clustering of galaxies and gas, the properties of galaxy clusters, observations of gravitational lensing, and supernova-based measurements of the Hubble relation. This model implies that we live in a strange universe: atoms make up only 4 percent of the visible universe, dark matter makes up 24 percent, and dark energy – energy associated with empty space – makes up 72 percent. |
| `In' analytical Note | Daedalus Vol.143, No.4; Fal.2014: p.125-133 |
| Journal Source | Daedalus Vol: 143 No 4 |
| Standard Number | Space Policy |