Speaker: Glenn Starkman, Case Western
Reserve University
Title: Supernova Searches, Dark Energy
and the Causal Structure of the Universe
Abstract:
Supernova observations show that supernova at z ~ 1 are dimmer
than would be expected in an FRW universe with a decelerating
expansion. This, and other data have led us to infer that the energy
density of the universe is dominated by dark energy -- an energy
source with negative pressure comparable in magnitude to its energy
density -- and, perhaps most exciting, that is initiating a new epoch
of cosmic inflation. In this talk I will discuss what it would take
observationally to put some of these inferences on stronger footing
and some of the eschatological implications if these inferences are
confirmed. I will also discuss, briefly, a result relating to
strategies for improving the statistical confidence level of these
results.
