2007-2008 Academic Training Programme

LECTURE SERIES

28, 29, 30, 31 January 2008
11:00 to 12:00 - TH Auditorium, Bldg. 4
A Dark Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Dr. E.W. KOLB, Chicago University, USA

According to the standard cosmological model, 95% of the present mass density of the universe is dark: roughly 70% of the total in the form of dark energy and 25% in the form of dark matter. In a series of four lectures, I will begin by presenting a brief review of cosmology, and then I will review the observational evidence for dark matter and dark energy. I will discuss some of the proposals for dark matter and dark energy, and connect them to high-energy physics. I will also present an overview of an observational program to quantify the properties of dark energy.