Chennai Mathematical Institute

Seminars




3.30 p.m.
Accelerating Universes and the Emerging Landscape in String Theory

Prof. Sandip Trivedi
TIFR.
01-09-10


Abstract

Recent progress in observational cosmology has shown that the universe is mostly made up of a mysterious form of energy, called Dark energy. A small and positive cosmological constant provides the leading theoretical explanation for what it is. We now understand that such a cosmological constant can arise in string theory. The picture which emerges is that of a complicated landscape with many, many vacuua that have widely varying values for the cosmological constant and the other constants of nature.The colloquium will review these developments and end by asking what they might mean for the future of string theory and for our quest for the fundamental laws of nature.