ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Dr Juan Uson

The Universe in 2005: Cosmology after WMAP - Dr Juan Uson Colloquium

The á“Big Bangá” model is a good description of the Universe. In 2005, we know the value of the key parameters but we do not know what constitutes the majority of the matter and energy content of the Universe. Recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation as well as of type Ia Supernova explosions indicate that the dynamics of the Universe is determined by the effects of some kind of Dark Energy which causes the expansion of the Universe to accelerate. After a brief description of the main properties of the Standard model, I will discuss the WMAP instrument and measurements in some detail and
conclude with some remarks on the rather weird Universe that the
observations have shown us.