The light/dark universe : light from galaxies, dark matter and dark energy / James M. Overduin, Paul S. Wesson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Overduin, J. M. (James Martin), 1965-

Contributor:

Wesson, Paul S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Olbers' paradox.

Dark matter (Astronomy).

Dark energy (Astronomy).

Galaxies--Spectra.

Galaxies.

Cosmology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

To the eyes of the average person and the trained scientist, the night sky is dark, even though the universe is populated by myriads of bright galaxies. Why this happens is a question commonly called Olbers' Paradox, and dates from at least 1823. How dark is the night sky is a question which preoccupies astrophysicists at the present. The answer to both questions tells us about the origin of the universe and the nature of its contents - luminous galaxies like the Milky Way, plus the dark matter between them and the mysterious dark energy which appears to be pushing everything apart. In this bo

Contents:

Preface; Contents; 1. The Enigma of the Dark Night Sky; 1.1 Why is the sky dark at night?; 1.2 ""By reason of distance""; 1.3 Island Universe; 1.4 Non-uniform sources; 1.5 Tired light; 1.6 Absorption; 1.7 Fractal Universe; 1.8 Finite age; 1.9 Dark stars; 1.10 Curvature; 1.11 Ether voids; 1.12 Insufficient energy; 1.13 Light-matter interconversion; 1.14 Cosmic expansion; 1.15 Olbers' paradox today; 2. The Intensity of Cosmic Background Light; 2.1 Bolometric intensity; 2.2 Time and redshift; 2.3 Matter, energy and expansion; 2.4 How important is expansion?; 2.5 Simple at models

2.6 Curved and multi-uid models2.7 A bright sky at night?; 3. The Spectrum of Cosmic Background Light; 3.1 Spectral intensity; 3.2 Luminosity density; 3.3 The delta function .; 3.4 The normal distribution; 3.5 The thermal spectrum; 3.6 The spectra of galaxies; 3.7 The light of the night sky; 3.8 R.I.P. Olbers' paradox; 4. Dark Cosmology; 4.1 The four dark elements; 4.2 Baryons; 4.3 Dark matter; 4.4 Neutrinos; 4.5 Dark energy; 4.6 Cosmological concordance; 4.7 The coincidental Universe; 5. The Radio and Microwave Backgrounds; 5.1 The cosmological ""constant""; 5.2 The scalar field

5.3 Decaying dark energy5.4 Energy density; 5.5 Source luminosity; 5.6 Bolometric intensity; 5.7 Spectral energy distribution; 5.8 Dark energy and the background light; 6. The Infrared and Visible Backgrounds; 6.1 Decaying axions; 6.2 Axion halos; 6.3 Bolometric intensity; 6.4 Axions and the background light; 7. The Ultraviolet Background; 7.1 Decaying neutrinos; 7.2 Neutrino halos; 7.3 Halo luminosity; 7.4 Free-streaming neutrinos; 7.5 Extinction by gas and dust; 7.6 Neutrinos and the background light; 8. The X-ray and Gamma-ray Backgrounds; 8.1 Weakly interacting massive particles

8.2 Pair annihilation8.3 One-loop decay; 8.4 Tree-level decay; 8.5 Gravitinos; 8.6 WIMPs and the background light; 9. The High-Energy Gamma-ray Background; 9.1 Primordial black holes; 9.2 Evolution and density; 9.3 Spectral energy distribution; 9.4 Bolometric intensity; 9.5 Spectral intensity; 9.6 Higher dimensions; 10. The Universe Seen Darkly; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-216) and index.

ISBN:

9789812834423

9812834427

OCLC:

747539692