Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Space Science - Cosmology

This book is a treatise on time and on background independence in physics. It first considers how time is conceived of in each accepted paradigm of physics: Newtonian, special relativity, quantum mechanics (QM) and general relativity (GR). Substantial differences are moreover uncovered between what is meant by time in QM and in GR. These differences jointly source the Problem of Time: Nine interlinked facets which arise upon attempting concurrent treatment of the QM and GR paradigms, as is required in particular for a background independent theory of quantum gravity. A sizeable proportion...

The Big Bang was not a bang—and it was not so big—neither was it the start of the universe.

The universe started many trillions of years before the big bang and it was in no hurry to prepare for the event that formed our part of the universe.

This book describes the events leading up to the big bang including the formation of the building blocks of matter, how the properties of matter like mass and energy were formed.

These unobservable events of the original universe are described with graphic detail. There is an inescapable logic to each stage and phase...

This book is for anyone who has found solace in the forests, meadows and wilderness. Johnson sees--and conveys to the reader--that the natural world is a mentor, curative and friend. Her writing encourages us to slow down, appreciate the earth's rich beauty, and, in the process, become found.
Being lost isn't always a bad thing--indeed Cathy Johnson helps us see that it can be the adventure of a lifetime. In this book, the Missouri native sets out on a quest through the forests and trails of her region, searching not only for answers, but for life's bigger and broader...

This thesis discusses the construction of an effective field theory (EFT) for non-relativistic Majorana fermions, shows how to use it to calculate observables in a thermal medium, and derives the effects of these thermal particles on the CP asymmetry.

The methods described in this thesis are the only ones to date that allow a systematic and effective description of the non-relativistic dynamics of a heavy Majorana fermion at finite temperature. The CP asymmetry is studied for hierarchical and nearly degenerate heavy-neutrino masses and the analysis includes the treatment of...

This thesis explores the connection between gravity and thermodynamics and provides a unification scheme that opens up new directions of exploration. Further elaborating on the Hawking effect and the possibility of singularity avoidance, the author not only discusses the information loss paradox at a broader level but also provides a possible solution to it. As the final frontier, it describes some novel effects arising from the microscopic structure of spacetime.

Taken as a whole, the thesis addresses three major research areas in gravitational physics: it starts with...

How does the universe work? This question has vexed some of the greatest minds for millennia, but is also a question many of us have asked ourselves throughout our lives.

If you are not a physicist but want to feel comfortable in your own mind that you understand the universe you live in, then this little book is for you. Using accessible language to explain complex ideas, Michael MacLaughlin provides you with a simple key to understanding our universe, from the smallest particles to the greatest galaxies.

Challenging conventional explanations, the author takes you on a journey...