Physics Research Conference
East Bridge 201 (Richard P. Feynman Lecture Hall)
Inflation, infinity, equilibrium and the observable Universe
Andreas Albrecht,
Professor of Physics & Department Chair,
UC Davis,
Cosmic inflation has given us a remarkably successful cosmological phenomenology. But the original goal of explaining why the cosmos is *likely* to take the form we observe has proven very difficult to realize. I review the status of "eternal inflation" with an eye on the roles various infinities have (both helpful and unhelpful) in our current understanding. I then discuss attempts to construct an alternative cosmological framework that is truly finite, using ideas about equilibrium and dark energy. I report some recent results that point to observable signatures.
For more information, please contact Sheri Stoll by phone at 395-6608 or by email at sstoll@caltech.edu or visit http://www.pma.caltech.edu/~physcoll/PhysColl.html.
Event Series
Physics Research Conference