Review of Dark Matter and Dark Energy by M. Kamionkowski

[EL]

A nice review of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, including discussions of the CMB and Inflation, arrived today at the arXiv:

http://arxiv.org/abs/0706.2986

I think some people here would find it quite interesting.

 

[Wallace]

A nice review. The section on CMB polarization and gravity waves was particularly good. I think I understand that now much better than I did before!

 

[Pakbabydoll]

nice, thanks for posting

 

[Chronos]

Good catch, EL. That is what I call good science and good reporting. I like a guy who does not mind pointing out the difference between limbs and twigs.

 

[chrisina]

that's exactly the kind of overview I've been trying to find for a long time, thanks very much EL.

 

[marcus]

some folks might be interested to know the context of Kamionkowski's talk.
the paper is essentially a talk he gave in October 2005
at this
http://www.metanexus.net/fqx/townes/
this was a rich extravaganza for the well-to-do educated lay public, featuring
EIGHTEEN NOBEL LAUREATES
and funded by the TEMPLETON FOUNDATION

It took place at UC Berkeley Pauley Ballroom and Zellerbach Hall, both just a few blocks from where I live.
Openers was at the Ballroom. But days 2 and 3 were at Zellerbach.
Zellerbach is where we usually have symphony orchestra concerts and performances of the ballet, and where Stephen Hawking speaks when he is on tour. It is kind of a modern style opera house. Plus there was a Banquet and if you paid extra you got to sit at a table with a Nobel Laureate.

The Templeton Foundation has organized some pretty remarkable Symposia and this was not the least of them.

Get a load of the Day Three program!
=========
Day 3: "The 'Big Picture'--Exploring Questions on the Boundaries of Science" (Zellerbach Auditorium)

* How can progress be made in the quest for "ultimate explanations" in cosmology? Is the universe a purposive order? What are the logical dynamics of the "3-M circle" of ultimate explanation--Mind-Math-Matter?
* What is consciousness? Do we have free will? Is the concept of "causal closure" a real constraint from physics that is also applicable to the nature of the mind?
* Is there life "out there"? Is life in any sense written into the laws of nature?
* How can ethical culture and institutions be strengthened to respond to the accelerating growth of technological power? What should scientists do to address the ethical challenges raised by the astonishing success of their enterprise? Are new habits, new covenants, new institutions, and new cultures needed for the future of science and for the appropriate stewardship of its accelerating powers?

MORNING:

* Special plenary lecture:
Freeman Dyson: "The Future of Science"
* Vaclav Smil: "Ethics in Science and 'The Power Paradox'"
* Special Interdisciplinary Panel Discussion on Free Will and Consciousness
Physics: George Ellis (chair), Hans Halvorson, Anton Zeilinger
Philosophy: John Searle (chair), Robert Bishop, Nancy Cartwright (invited), Nancey Murphy
Neuroscience: William Newsome (chair), Gerald Edelman, Christof Koch

AFTERNOON:

* Beyond Physics
Michio Kaku: "The Future Vision: Artificial Intelligence and Extraterrestrial Life"
Paul Davies: "Biocentricity and the Anthropic Principle"
Robert John Russell: "Science and Religion"
* 3-M Debate (Matter, Mind, Mathematics)--The Nature of Ultimate Reality
Chair: George Ellis
Panelists: Gerald Gabrielse, Eleanore Stump (invited), Leonard Susskind, Max Tegmark

EVENING:

* 7:00-11:00 PM Celebratory banquet honoring Professor and Mrs. Townes in the historic Rotunda Building in Oakland
=================