New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology

This volume presents an unique and accessible synthesis of modern cosmology. In recent years, observational cosmology has made remarkable advances, bringing into sharper focus a new set of fundamental questions that Martin 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.

Unique and accessible synthesis of modern cosmology from a famous and internationally respected author.

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Rees (King's College, U. of Cambridge, UK) outlines some of the current issues at the interface between extragalactic physics, cosmology, and particle physics. Based on six hours worth of lectures presented to physicists and astronomers, the information is kept to the same level of detail that was necessarily somewhat lacking for the talks. Chapters cover the cosmological framework, galaxies and dark matter, the emergence of cosmic structure, quasars and their demography, and relics of the high-redshift universe. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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.