"A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fundamental questions about its origin, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate."
This is a broad field concerned with the study of the universe's origin, evolution, and eventual fate using physical laws and principles.
Big Bang Theory: The prevailing scientific explanation for the origins of the universe.
Inflation Theory: A theory that explains the rapid expansion of the universe in the moments after the Big Bang.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: The afterglow of the Big Bang that permeates throughout the entire universe.
Dark Matter: An elusive form of matter that cannot be seen, but plays a crucial role in the structure and evolution of the universe.
Dark Energy: A mysterious force that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.
Structure Formation: The process by which galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and larger structures in the universe form and evolve.
Neutrinos: Subatomic particles that travel close to the speed of light and play a role in the evolution of the universe.
Quantum Cosmology: The application of quantum mechanics to the study of the universe.
Early Universe: The period of time shortly after the Big Bang when the universe was hot and dense.
Cosmic Inflation: A period of exponential expansion that occurred during the very early universe.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: The process by which the light elements (hydrogen, helium, and lithium) were created in the early universe.
Cosmic Rays: High-energy particles that originate from outside of our solar system and interact with the Earth's atmosphere.
Black Holes: Extremely dense objects that form when massive stars collapse, and that play a role in shaping the structure of the universe.
Gravitational Waves: Ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are caused by violent cosmic events, such as the collision of black holes.
Cosmic Strings: Theoretical objects that could exist due to imperfections in the fabric of spacetime.
Big Bang cosmology: This is the prevailing theory of the origin and development of the universe, positing an initial expansion from a single point of infinite density and temperature.
Inflationary cosmology: This theory suggests that the universe underwent a rapid period of exponential expansion shortly after the proposed Big Bang, smoothing out inconsistencies in the standard model.
Brane cosmology: This proposes that our universe exists on a "brane" within a larger multi-dimensional space-time, potentially explaining dark energy and dark matter.
Cyclic cosmology: This theory suggests that the universe undergoes cycles of expansion and contraction, with each cycle beginning with a Big Bang and ending with a Big Crunch.
Steady State cosmology: This theory posits that the universe has always existed and will continue to exist in a constant state of expansion, with new matter continually being created.
Chaotic inflationary cosmology: This theory suggests that new universes are constantly being "born" within a larger multiverse, driven by random quantum fluctuations.
Misner spacetime cosmology: This model proposes a cyclical model similar to cyclic cosmology but with the addition of multiple parallel universes.
Emergent cosmology: This approach suggests that the large-scale structure of the universe arises from simpler underlying laws and initial conditions, rather than being pre-determined.
Primordial black hole cosmology: This theory proposes that primordial black holes formed shortly after the Big Bang and may account for some or all of the universe's dark matter.
Multiverse cosmology: This theory posits that our universe is just one of many universes existing in a larger multiverse.
Eternal inflation cosmology: This model suggests that inflation occurs eternally in various regions of space-time, generating more and more universes in a never-ending process.
"Cosmology as a science originated with the Copernican principle, which implies that celestial bodies obey identical physical laws to those on Earth, and Newtonian mechanics, which first allowed those physical laws to be understood."
"Physical cosmology, as it is now understood, began with the development in 1915 of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity."
"The 1920s: first, Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe contains a huge number of external galaxies beyond the Milky Way; then, work by Vesto Slipher and others showed that the universe is expanding."
"The establishment of the Big Bang theory, by Georges Lemaître, as the leading cosmological model."
"A few researchers still advocate a handful of alternative cosmologies."
"Dramatic advances in observational cosmology since the 1990s, including the cosmic microwave background, distant supernovae and galaxy redshift surveys."
"The standard model of cosmology requires the universe to contain large amounts of dark matter and dark energy."
"whose nature is currently not well understood."
"the model gives detailed predictions that are in excellent agreement with many diverse observations."
"Areas relevant to cosmology include particle physics experiments and theory, theoretical and observational astrophysics, general relativity, quantum mechanics, and plasma physics."