Conversations About Astrophysics & Astronomy

Howard Burton

• Publisher: Ideas Roadshow
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781771700986
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Astronomy & Astrophysics

FIVE BOOKS IN ONE! This collection includes the following 5 complete Ideas Roadshow books featuring leading researchers providing fully accessible insights into cutting-edge academic research while revealing the inspirations and personal journeys behind the research. A detailed preface highlights the connections between the different books and all five books are broken into chapters with a detailed introduction and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter: I. Cosmological Conundrums - A conversation with Justin Khoury. This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Justin Khoury, Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. This extensive conversation gives a window into the world of a practicing, theoretical physicist cosmologist, the often-considerable gap between formal scientific positions and personal scientific interests and examines a wide range of fascinating topics that his research covers such as the early universe, the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, Cosmic Microwave Background, the MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) theory, and more.II. Astrophysical Wonders - A conversation with Scott Tremaine. This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Scott Tremaine, Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Study and an internationally renowned expert in both galactic-scale and planetary-scale astronomy. Topics that are part of this extensive conversation include the process of scientific discovery, in particular related to comets, Pluto, planetary rings, shepherding satellites, exoplanets, chaos theory and the formation, stability and uniqueness of our solar system. Further topics include galactic-scale astronomy, galaxy formation, dark matter, quasars, black holes, the large-scale structure of the universe and many outstanding open questions of contemporary astrophysics.III. A Universe Of Particles: Cosmological Reflections - A conversation with Rocky Kolb. This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Rocky Kolb, the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. After an inspiring story of how Rocky Kolb became interested in science, this wide-ranging conversation covers topics such as the development of and his work on inflationary cosmology, the Standard Model of particle physics, dark matter, dark energy, Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), the Large Hadron Collider, advice for high-school teachers to ignite a passion for learning in students, and more.IV. Inflated Expectations: A Cosmological Tale - A conversation with Paul Steinhardt. This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Paul Steinhardt, the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Director of the Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University. He is one of the originators of the theory of cosmic inflation and has become one of its fiercest critics. This fascinating conversation covers topics such as Paul Steinhardt's scientific development, his formative experiences at Caltech including his encounters with Richard Feynman, his development and later scepticism of the theory of cosmic inflation, the response of the scientific community to the failure of this theory, his theory of cosmology, The Ekpyrotic Universe, and more. V. The Cyclic Universe - A conversation with Roger Penrose. This extensive conversation between Howard Burton and Roger Penrose, co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford, explores the fundamental problem that is consistently being overlooked in modern cosmology, "Why did our universe begin in such a particular state of extremely low entropy?", Roger Penrose's motivation to come up with his Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC) theory and detailed insights into his groundbreaking research.Howard Burton is the founder and host of all Ideas Roadshow Conversations and was the Founding Executive Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics and an MA in philosophy.

Ideas Roadshow conversations present a wealth of candid insights from some of the world’s leading experts, generated through a focused yet informal setting. They are explicitly designed to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn’t otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks.

Over 100 Ideas Roadshow conversations have been held since our debut in 2012, covering a wide array of topics across the arts and sciences. All conversations in this collection are also available separately.

See www.ideas-on-film.com/ideasroadshow for a full listing.

Copyright ©2020 Open Agenda Publishing. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-77170-098-6 (eBook)

ISBN: 978-1-77170-097-9 (pb)

Edited by Howard Burton; preface and all introductions written by Howard Burton.

All Ideas Roadshow Conversations use Canadian spelling.

Contents

Textual Note

Preface

Cosmological Conundrums

A conversation with Justin Khoury

Introduction

I. Becoming a Physicist

II. The Victim of Its Success?

III. Periodically Fiery

IV. The CMB

V. The Process of Discovery

VI. Learning from History

VII. MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part I

VIII. MOND vs. Dark Matter, Part II

IX. Why Not Both?

X. Dark Energy

XI. Personal vs. Professional

XII. Revolutionary Rumblings

Astrophysical Wonders

A conversation with Scott Tremaine

Introduction

I. Personal Reflections

II. Exoplanetary Insights

III. Puzzles and Solutions

IV. Rings, Comets and Pluto

V. Investigating Stability

VI. Large-scale Issues

VII. Black Holes

VIII. Fundamental Questions

IX. Concluding Thoughts

Continuing the Conversation

A Universe of Particles

Cosmological Reflections

A conversation with Rocky Kolb

Introduction

I. Cool Beginnings

II. Cosmic Inflation

III. Dark Matter

IV. Dark Energy

V. Motivational Insights

Continuing the Conversation

Inflated Expectations

A Cosmological Tale

A conversation with Paul Steinhardt

Introduction

I. Scientific Beginnings

II. Inflationary Excitement

III. Progress, Tuned Appropriately

IV. Two Major Issues

V. Cosmological Denial

VI. Bouncing Back?

Continuing the Conversation

The Cyclic Universe

A conversation with Roger Penrose

Introduction

I. Inadvertent Success

II. Considering Entropy

III. Mysteries and False Explanations

IV. Conformal Geometry

V. CCC: The Basic Idea

VI. Light Cones

VII. Massive Headaches

VIII. Necessary Conditions

IX. Cosmic Imprints?

X. Battling Onwards

Continuing the Conversation

Textual Note

The contents of this book are based upon separate filmed conversations with Howard Burton and each of the five featured experts.

Justin Khoury is Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. This conversation occurred on October 22, 2014.

Scott Tremaine is Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Study. This conversation occurred on October 24, 2014.

Rocky Kolb is the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. This conversation occurred on May 15, 2015.

Paul Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein Professor in Science and Director of the Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University. This conversation occurred on May 15, 2015.

Roger Penrose is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford and co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. This conversation occurred on October 14, 2012.

Howard Burton is the creator and host of Ideas Roadshow and was Founding Executive Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Preface

There are many areas of scientific research that resonate strongly with the general public, from genetics to neuroscience to particle physics, but few can compare with the appeal of astrophysics and cosmology.

Perhaps it boils down to a question of accessibility. Appreciating the finer points of the structure of DNA or a proton can be daunting even for highly-trained professionals, but everyone knows what it’s like to look up at the night sky in awe and wonder.

It’s not that astrophysics is easy, of course—far from it—it’s that, somehow, its fundamental allure is so universal as to almost not need stating. Tell someone at a party that you’re studying geology and you’ll likely be asked, “So, what are you going to do with that?” Tell people that you’re studying astronomy, on the other hand, and you’ll probably simply hear, “Cool!”

Even the most practically-minded person, it seems, can’t help but feel a deep sense of personal fascination at the prospect of uncovering some secrets of the universe. And over the past few decades, things have only got more fascinating still.

Cosmology, once regarded as little more than speculative hand-waving, has been stunningly transformed into one of the most rigorous, data-driven fields in all of science. Dark matter has gone from being viewed as some conceptual or observational mistake that astronomers are one day going to sort out a mysterious entity that accounts for more than one quarter of the total energy of the universe. Black holes have moved from theoretically possible structures to relatively common astrophysical objects, with startlingly large ones, of masses millions or billions times that of our sun, now being thought to lie at the heart of most, if not all, galaxies.

And, perhaps most significant still, rather than the expansion rate of the universe slowing down due to gravity as most people had envisioned, a number of rigorous observations have confirmed that the universe is, in fact, accelerating in its expansion, with the associated force responsible—the so-called “dark energy”—for a shocking 70% of the energy of the universe.

Combining “dark energy” and “dark matter”, then, puts us in the decidedly unexpected position where we’re forced to admit that no less than 95% of the total energy of the known universe lies in stuff we really, to all intents and purposes, are entirely ignorant of.

Talk about awe and wonder.

I’d like to be able to assure you that the answers to all of these questions are contained within this collection of conversations with scientific experts, but of course I can’t.

What I can tell you however, is that each of the five conversations offers a remarkably unique opportunity to get a vivid, first-hand perspective of what it’s like to be at the very forefront of this riveting, rapidly-evolving scientific enterprise.

Justin Khoury reveals the often-considerable gap between formal scientific positions and personal scientific desires.

“There’s a funny discrepancy between what people talk about at the conferences and the formal talks. We give talks that are rather conservative, because that’s how we’re ...

Table of contents

• Textual Note
• Preface
• Cosmological Conundrums
• Astrophysical Wonders
• A Universe of Particles
• Inflated Expectations
• The Cyclic Universe