New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology

This volume presents a unique and accessible synthesis of our understanding of modern cosmology, written by one of the world's foremost contemporary cosmologists. In recent years, observational cosmology has made remarkable advances, bringing into sharper focus a new set of fundamental questions that Professor Rees addresses in this book. Why is the universe expanding the way it is? What were the 'seeds' that caused galaxies, clusters and superclusters to form? What is the nature of 'dark matter'? What happened in the very early universe? The latest exciting advances and theories are discussed, while maintaining a clear distinction between aspects that now have a firm empirical basis and those that remain speculative. Its wide scope and clear writing will be welcomed by anyone interested in cosmology and extragalactic astrophysics who has a basic grounding in physics, as well as academic researchers and graduate students in the field.

Martin Rees, born in 1942, is a Royal Society Professor and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. He also has the honorary position of Astronomer Royal. He has held chairs at the University of Sussex and the University of Cambridge. He is a former director of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, and has held visiting positions at Harvard, Caltech and Princeton. In addition to his unique contribution to the field as a researcher, he is the winner of the American Institute of Physics science writing prize, and is a talented lecturer at all levels. In 1993, he was invited to give a series of public lectures under the auspices of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, reviewing the progress of cosmology and its future prospects. These highly successful lectures were published as Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology (Cambridge University Press, Lezioni Lincee Series, 1995) and the updated and revised version is presented here.