by Katie Mack
Big Crunch impact on, 62–63
Big Rip and loss of, 112–13, 114 (fig.)
Copernican Principle on, 18
Cosmic Dawn and beginning of, 49
cosmic expansion and, 54, 61
cosmological constant and, 107
cosmological principle in, 17–18
dark energy and, 106, 107
distance and apparent size of, 86–87, 87 (fig.)
distance ladder measurements and, 119 (fig.)
Epoch of Reionization and, 49
gravitational lensing and, 68, 189
Hubble-Lemaître Law on speed-distance proportionality of, 58
light-year unit for observation of events and distance in, 16–17
possibilities of planets with other beings in, 50
rates of collisions between, 52–53
recession speed of, 83–84
redshift measurement process for, 55–56, 57 (fig.)
redshift measurements for distance of, 57, 58–59
seeing galaxies currently moving away from us faster than light, 87–88
shape of space and, 68
gamma rays, 55, 65
general relativity, 8, 78, 124, 155, 157, 162 cyclic universes and, 66
gravitational attraction and, 108
search for some kind of deviation in, 158–59
singularity at beginning of the Big Bang and, 33–34
General Theory of Relativity. See general relativity
gluons, 43–44
God Particle, 133–34. See also Higgs boson
Grand Unification, 37
Grand Unified Theory, 36, 160 beginning of the Big Bang and, 36–38
gravitational lensing, 68, 189
gravitational waves astronomical observation using, 157–58
effect on human body of, 158 (fig.)
first detection of, 157
inflation models for, 172
measurement of, 189–90
primordial, evidence for, 171–72
quantized gravity theory and, 160–61
gravitons, 160–61
gravity Big Crunch impact and, 63
cosmic expansion and, 61
cyclic universes and, 66
dark matter and, 67, 68
deceleration of universe and, 72, 74
effect of pressure and, 108
Einstein’s theory of, 8, 10, 32, 66, 68, 75, 77
Grand Unified Theory and, 36, 37
large extra dimensions scenario for, 163–64, 165
Newton’s studies of, 8, 9, 162
particle physics and, 160, 164
perceived weakness of, 163, 165
quantum mechanics predictions and, 160
search for some kind of deviation in, 158–60
shape of space and, 68
singularity at beginning of the Big Bang and, 32, 34
spacetime and, 164
Theory of Everything on, 36–37, 159
Gregory, Ruth, 150
GUT (Grand Unified Theory) era, 36–38
Hawking, Stephen, 11, 89, 92–93, 94, 95, 151, 152
Heat Death, 185, 207 black holes and, 95
dark energy and, 114
entropy and, 173
meaning of term, 90
state of universe after, 99–100
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, 41
helium Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and, 45, 46
Sun’s production of, 120
Higgs boson “God Particle” popular name for, 133–34
Higgs field differentiated from, 134
LHC discovery of, 130, 133
measurement of mass of, 141
Standard Model of particle physics and, 130, 134, 141, 181
Higgs field, 196–97 early universe and, 134, 136
electroweak symmetry and, 140, 142
false vacuum and, 143, 143 (fig.)
Higgs boson differentiated from, 134
inflation and, 171
potential of, 142, 143 (fig.), 147, 197
potential barrier and, 149
quantum tunneling and, 149
vacuum decay and, 144–45, 147–48
Higgs potential, 142, 143 (fig.), 147, 197
Higgs vacuum, 140, 141, 142
high-energy event, and vacuum decay, 147–48
Hložek, Renée, 188, 209, 210
Hot Big Bang black hole formation in, 151
cosmic microwave background and, 47
description and span of time of, 22
inflation field and, 167
LHC re-creation of conditions for, 130
Hubble, Edwin, 57–58, 79, 118n
Hubble Constant, 189 cosmic expansion and, 58, 125
debates about calculation methods for, 126–28, 189
Hubble-Lemaître Law and, 58
Hubble-Lemaître Law, 58, 59, 62, 69
Hubble radius, 83–86, 85 (fig.), 88
hydrogen Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and, 45, 46
decay of, 89–90
red giant phase of the Sun and burning off of, 121
Sun’s fusion of, 120
hydrostatic equilibrium, 120
Ijjas, Anna, 173
infernoverse, 23
inflaton field, 167, 171
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), 187
Johnson, Matthew, 99
Johnson, Clifford V., 184, 190, 199–200, 202
Kibble, Tom, 26n
Lao-Tzu, 4
large extra dimensions scenario, and gravity, 163–64, 165
Large Hadron Collider (LHC), 129–31, 141, 147, 161, 182, 183 description of, 129–30
Higgs boson discovery by, 130, 133
public concerns about, 129, 130–31, 132
quark-gluon plasma re-creation in, 44
safety of, 129
vacuum decay and, 152
large-scale curvature of universe, 75
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), 186
Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), 157, 190
Law of Universal Gravitation, 8
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan, 117–18
Lemaître, Georges, 58
LHC. See Large Hadron Collider
light dominant energy condition and, 111
measuring shifts in. See blueshift measurements; redshift measurements
movement through spacetime by, 20 (fig.)
particle horizon and speed of, 82
recession speed of galaxies and speed of, 83–84
shape of space and response of, 68
spectrum pattern characteristics of, 27, 55–57
thermal radiation and, 27–28
travel times for, 17 (fig.)
light speed delay description of, 16–17
“now” concept when viewing events and, 18–19
spacetime property and, 18–19
light-year unit, 16–17
LIGO. See Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory
Local Group of galaxies 52–53, 88
lookback time, 26
loop quantum gravity, 160
LSST. See Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, 169n
matter bending of space by, 68, 108
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and, 45
dark energy and, 107–8
density over time of, 97 (fig.)
imbalance between antimatter and, 162
quark era and distinction between antimatter and, 44
maximum entropy universe, 97
McNees, Robert, 153n
Mendeleev, Dmitri, 137
Mercury gravity theory and observations of, 8, 162
red giant phase of the Sun and destruction of, 1, 121
Milky Way, 8, 24 Andromeda Galaxy’s future collision with, 51–52, 62–63, 88
distance ladder measurements and, 119 (fig.)
smaller nearby galaxies consumed by, 52
“Mixed Signals” (White and Wharton), 166
Moon B
ig Rip and, 113
cosmic ray collisions on, 132–33
distance and apparent size of, 86
Moss, Ian, 150
neutron, decay of, 89
neutron stars, 125n, 158, 159, 166, 171
Newton, Sir Isaac, 8, 9
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 3, 100–101
observable universe description of, 21, 26
cartoon map of, 26 (fig.)
cosmic expansion and, 54
particle horizon in, 82–84
seeing “edge” of, 83
uniformity problem of, 39–40
open universe, 75, 76 (fig.)
overview effect, 7
parallax, in distance measurement, 117, 118, 119 (fig.)
Parkes radio telescope, 24
particle colliders, 48. See also specific colliders early universe research using, 134–35
gravity theory experiments and, 161
particle physics research using, 135–36
public concerns about, 129, 130–31, 132, 133
quark-gluon plasma re-creation in, 44
safety of, 129
vacuum decay and, 152
particle horizon, 82–84
particle physics, 11 Grand Unification in, 37
gravity and, 160, 164
particle collider experiments for insights into, 135–36
symmetry in, 138
Pauli exclusion principle, 122
Peebles, Jim, 23, 24–25, 27n
Peiris, Hiranya, 179, 180, 187, 202, 206
Penrose, Roger, 175, 208
Penzias, Arno, 23–24, 25–27
periodic table of the elements, symmetry in, 137
phantom dark energy, 128 Big Rip and, 115
Caldwell’s calculation of, 110–12, 111 (fig.), 115
phenomenology, 11–12
physics areas studied by cosmologists in, 10
Grand Unified Theory in, 36–37
gravity theory and, 161
Higgs field and, 134
models in, 22n
new perspectives on the universe’s end and findings in, 7–8
particle collider experiments for insights into, 135, 141
singularity at beginning of the Big Bang and, 33–34
symmetry in, 136–39
Planck, Max, 35
Planck satellite, 115
Planck Time, 35, 36, 37
planets Big Crunch and birth of, 63
Big Rip and orbits of, 113
red giant phase of the Sun and destruction of, 121
Poincaré recurrences, 99, 103, 201
Pontzen, Andrew, 180–81, 206–7
potential Higgs field and, 142, 143 (fig.)
vacuum decay and, 141–42
primordial gravitational waves, 171–72
Pritchard, Jonathan, 208–9
protons, decay of, 89
quantum field theory, 11
quantum gravity theories, 34, 160, 199
quantum mechanics, 148, 149, 155 cyclic universes and, 66
density fluctuations in cosmic inflation and, 43
gravity and, 160
Many Worlds interpretation of, 169n
singularity at beginning of the Big Bang and, 33–34
quantum tunneling, 148–50
quark-gluon plasma, 43, 44
quarks early universe and, 43–44
particle colliders and, 130–31
quantum gravity theory on, 160
Standard Model of particle physics on, 181
types of, 131n
quintessence hypothesis, for dark energy, 80–81
radiation, density over time of, 97 (fig.)
radio telescopes, 20, 24, 25, 132–33
recollapse of universe, 76, 81, 177 critical density between eternal expansion and, 68–70
final stages of the Big Bang and, 64–65
theoretical possibility of, 70n
red giant phase of the Sun, 1, 52, 73, 121
redshift measurements Big Crunch and, 62
cosmic expansion and, 55–57, 57 (fig.), 73, 74
distant galaxy movement and, 57, 58–59
earlier epochs of the universe and, 59
Hubble radius and, 83
importance of distance and age relationship with, 59–60
Rees, Martin, 177, 205–6
reheating process, in cosmic inflation, 42
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) public concerns about, 131, 132, 133
quark-gluon plasma re-creation in, 44
vacuum decay possibility and, 133
religion cyclic view of the universe and, 3
discomfort with mixing of science and, 134
vision of End Times in, 2–3, 4
RHIC. See Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
rotational symmetry, 138–39
Rubin, Vera, 67–68
Sagan, Carl, 46
scalar field, in ekpyrotic models, 171, 174
Schwarzschild radius, 94n
Second Law of Thermodynamics, 91, 93, 97, 98, 104
shape of space geometry of universe types and, 75, 76 (fig.)
gravitational waves and, 158
matter and bending of, 68, 108
response of light related to, 68
singularity Big Bang beginning with, 32–35, 40n
black hole and, 93, 94n
bounce model and, 170
Conformal Cyclic Cosmology and, 176
cyclic universes and, 66, 175
ekpyrotic mode and, 174
Solar System Andromeda Galaxy–Milky Way collision in, 51–52, 62
definitions and measurements of distance in, 116–17
distance ladder in, 117, 119 (fig.)
vacuum decay in, 150
sound, and Doppler effect, 54, 55 (fig.)
spacetime dark energy as property of, 81
description of, 18–19
gravity in, 164
light moving through, 20 (fig.)
spectrum pattern characteristics, in star identification, 27, 55–57
spontaneous symmetry breaking, 134
standard candle method of distance measurement, 73–74, 117–18, 119
Standard Model of particle physics, 181–83, 190, 191 Higgs boson and, 130, 134, 141, 181
physical phenomena not explained in, 161–62
vacuum decay and, 155
stars and star systems. See also white dwarf stars Andromeda Galaxy–Milky Way collision and formation of, 51–52
astronomical all-sky surveys of, 113
Big Crunch impact on, 62–63, 65
Big Rip and, 113
Cepheid variable stars, 118–19, 119 (fig.), 127
Chandrasekhar Limit and, 124–25
Cosmic Dawn and beginning of, 49
cosmic expansion and, 61
distance ladder measurements and, 119 (fig.)
electron degeneracy pressure and collapse of, 122–23, 124
Epoch of Reionization and, 49
gravitational wave astronomy on, 158
hydrostatic equilibrium in, 120
light spectrum pattern characteristics of, 27, 55–57
possibilities of planets with other beings in, 50
redshift measurements of, 55–56
shape of space and, 68
supernovae explosions and distance measurements in, 73–74, 75, 79, 81, 84, 118–19
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV series), 18n, 163
statistical mechanics, 98–99
Steinhardt, Paul, 166, 173
string theory, 160 research conducted in, 10n
as ultimate Theory of Everything, 36–37
Sun Big Rip and, 113
distance and apparent size of, 86
electron degeneracy pressure and collapse of, 122–23
gravitational pull of, 159
hydrogen-helium balance in, 120–21
red giant phase of, 1, 52, 73, 121
supernovae explosions distance measurements in universe using, 73–74, 75, 79, 81, 84, 1
18–19
electron degeneracy pressure and, 122–23
Supernova 1006, 123n
supersymmetry model (SUSY), 182
surface of last scattering, 47
symmetry breaking event in, 138, 139. See also electroweak symmetry breaking equations describing interactions in, 139
examples of, 138–39
mathematical expression of, 138
patterns in, 137, 138
physics and, 136–38
Theory of Everything (TOE), 37, 59n, 159, 160, 161, 162
thermal radiation, 27–28
thermodynamic equilibrium, 39
3-dimensional branes, in ekpyrotic models, 163, 164, 166, 167–69
time travel, 15
topological defect, 139n
translational symmetry, 139
Turner, Ken, 25
Turok, Neil, 166, 175, 201, 209
Type Ia supernovae explosions characteristic brightness and spectrum of light in, 73
dark energy and, 125
description of, 119–20
distance measurement using, 73–74, 75, 79, 81, 84, 118–19, 125
measuring speed of receding by, 74
standard candle method of distance measurement for, 73–74, 117–18, 119
universe. See also observable universe beginning of, 2
belief in steady state of, 4–5
Big Bang afterglow in, 63–64
bounce model of, 169–70, 173–74
bubble of true vacuum in, 144–46, 146 (fig.)
closed, 75, 76 (fig.)
Copernican Principle on, 18