David Weinberg - Dark Matter and Dark Energy

!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> David Weinberg - Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Dark Matter and Dark Energy September 30, 2005 General Relativity, Einstein's theory of gravity, is a fundamental tool in describing the universe on the largest scales. It shows that normal, everyday matter makes up only a small fraction of the universe. Most of the universe is actually made of exotic dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter is an elusive form of matter that interacts only through gravity and is responsible for the elegant structure of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Dark energy is a mysterious force that resists gravity and is causing our universe to expand apart faster and faster. This lecture will describe the discovery of dark matter and dark energy and discuss current ideas for what they may be. It will conclude with a look to the future, when new observations may shed light on these dark components of our universe.

	David Weinberg is a professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University. He uses supercomputer simulations and large observational data sets to study the physics of galaxy formation, the clustering of galaxies, the distribution of intergalactic gas, and the values of fundamental cosmological parameters. He has held appointments at Berkeley and the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. In addition, he is the creator of the "Galaxy Formation!" board game and "The Dark Matter Rap: A Cosmological History for the MTV Generation".