Understanding Our Universe: Current Status and Open Issues

Abstract

Last couple of decades have been the golden age for cosmology. High quality data confirmed the broad paradigm of standard cosmology but have thrusted upon us a preposterous composition for the universe which defies any simple explanation, thereby posing probably the greatest challenge theoretical physics has ever faced. Several aspects of these developments are critically reviewed, concentrating on conceptual issues and open questions. [Topics discussed include: Cosmological Paradigm, Growth of structures in the universe, Inflation and generation of initial perturbations, Temperature anisotropies of the CMBR, Dark energy, Cosmological Constant, Deeper issues in cosmology.]

To appear in "100 Years of Relativity - Space-time Structure: Einstein and Beyond", A.Ashtekar (Editor), World Scientific (Singapore, 2005); 30 pages; 4 figures

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• Covariant Generalized Holographic Dark Energy and Accelerating Universe
• Interacting Kasner-type cosmologies
• Evidence for a Cosmological Phase Transition From the Dark Energy Scale
• Accelerating Universe in Higher Dimensional Space Time : an alternative approach
• Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for Extended Particle Models
• Dimension Driven Accelerating Universe
• Modified Newtonian dynamics as a prediction of general relativity