The Standard Cosmological Model

Abstract

The Standard Model of Particle Physics (SMPP) is an enormously successful description of high energy physics, driving ever more precise measurements to find "physics beyond the standard model", as well as providing motivation for developing more fundamental ideas that might explain the values of its parameters. Simultaneously, a description of the entire 3-dimensional structure of the present-day Universe is being built up painstakingly. Most of the structure is stochastic in nature, being merely the result of the particular realisation of the "initial conditions" within our observable Universe patch. However, governing this structure is the Standard Model of Cosmology (SMC), which appears to require only about a dozen parameters. Cosmologists are now determining the values of these quantities with increasing precision in order to search for "physics beyond the standard model", as well as trying to develop an understanding of the more fundamental ideas which might explain the values of its parameters. Although it is natural to see analogies between the two Standard Models, some intrinsic differences also exist, which are discussed here. Nevertheless, a truly fundamental theory will have to explain both the SMPP and SMC, and this must include an appreciation of which elements are deterministic and which are accidental. Considering different levels of stochasticity within cosmology may make it easier to accept that physical parameters in general might have a non-deterministic aspect.

16 pages, 2 figures, invited talk at "Theory Canada 1", June 2005, Vancouver

References in corpus (11)

• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (in "The Review of Particle Properties" 2004)
• Type Ia Supernova Discoveries at z>1 From the Hubble Space Telescope: Evidence for Past Deceleration and Constraints on Dark Energy Evolution
• The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: Power-spectrum analysis of the final dataset and cosmological implications
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• The Anthropic Landscape of String Theory
• Extended Mosaic Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager
• Cosmological Parameters from Eigenmode Analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Galaxy Redshifts
• Probabilities in the inflationary multiverse
• Multiple universes, cosmic coincidences, and other dark matters
• Anthropic Reasoning and Quantum Cosmology
• Neutrinos and Cosmology: an update

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• p-Adic and Adelic Cosmology: p-Adic Origin of Dark Energy and Dark Matter
• Spatial and temporal tuning in void models for acceleration
• Induced CMB quadrupole from pointing offsets
• Predicted Constraints on Cosmic String Tension from Planck and Future CMB Polarization Measurements
• Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology
• Damping of cosmological tensor modes in Horndeski theories after GW170817
• Transformation of the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation into reciprocal spaces and consequences of this approach