22nd Hintze lecture

The Hintze lectures highlight contemporary developments in astrophysics and cosmology and are generously funded by the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation.

Professor George Efstathiou, University of Cambridge hosts the 22nd Hintze lecture and asks: the legacy from Planck: do we have a standard model of cosmology?

Observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation by the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite have led to a standard model of cosmology with very precisely determined parameters. In this model, known as ΛCDM, structure in the Universe arose from quantum fluctuations that were stretched in scale during an early inflationary phase in the Universe’s history. At the present day, most of the matter is cold and invisible, but most of the energy is in an unusual form that is also dark and invisible. The three key ingredients of the ΛCDM cosmology – inflation, cold dark matter and dark energy – are not understood at a fundamental level. Professor Efstathiou will first discuss the evidence in favour of the ΛCDM cosmology before then reviewing recent evidence, from measurements of the Hubble constant and gravitational lensing, for the model's failures. The talk will conclude by answering the title question: do we have a standard model of cosmology?

This event is free to attend however registration is required.