Secrets of the Universe – hiding in plain sight? – with Professor Neil Turok
public in-person lecture
This lecture explored some of the latest ideas in cosmology with renowned physicist Professor Neil Turok, Holder of the Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Neil Turok - Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics, University of Edinburgh; Roger Penrose Visiting Chair, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; Imperial Alumnus.
We heard from Professor Turok on this enthralling topic:
Recent observations have revealed that the universe is amazingly simple on the largest visible scales. This simplicity motivated us to search for more economical and predictive explanations than those offered by currently popular paradigms.
Our search has been surprisingly fruitful: it has uncovered a) the simplest-yet explanation for the cosmic dark matter, which will be tested in the next 3-5 years, b) a new, thermodynamic explanation for the large scale geometry of the cosmos, based on the notion of gravitational entropy pioneered by Hawking and others, c) a resolution of the big bang singularity, as a kind of “mirror” ensuring that the universe does not break CPT symmetry (the most fundamental known symmetry) and d) a new explanation for the origin of the observed density variations in the universe, explaining them quantitatively for the first time.
image courtesy of Carlos F. Turienzo
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