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Article Contents
- ABSTRACT
- 1.INTRODUCTION
- 1.1.The issues for observational cosmology
- 1.2.The opportunity for physics
- 1.3.Some explanations
- 2.BASIC CONCEPTS
- 2.1.The Friedmann-Lemaître model
- 2.2.The cosmological constant
- Inflation and dark energy
- 3.HISTORICAL REMARKS
- 3.1.Einstein's thoughts
- 3.2.The development of ideas
- 3.2.1.Early indications of Lambda
- 3.2.2.The coincidences argument against Lambda
- 3.2.3.Vacuum energy and Lambda
- 3.3.Inflation
- 3.3.1.The scenario
- 3.3.2.Inflation in a low density universe
- 3.4.The cold dark matter model
- 3.5.Dark energy
- 4.THE COSMOLOGICAL TESTS
- 4.1.The theories
- 4.1.1.General relativity
- 4.1.2.The cold dark matter model for structure
formation
- 4.2.The tests
- 4.2.1.The thermal cosmic microwave background
radiation
- 4.2.2.Light element abundances
- 4.2.3.Expansion times
- 4.2.4.The redshift-angular size and
redshift-magnitude relations
- 4.2.5.Galaxy counts
- 4.2.6.The gravitational lensing rate
- 4.2.7.Dynamics and the mean mass density
- 4.2.8.The baryon mass fraction in clusters of
galaxies
- 4.2.9.The cluster mass function
- 4.2.10.Biasing and the development of nonlinear mass
density fluctuations
- 4.2.11.The anisotropy of the cosmic microwave
background radiation
- 4.2.12.The mass autocorrelation function and
nonbaryonic matter
- 4.2.13.The gravitational inverse square law
- 4.3.The state of the cosmological
tests
- 5.CONCLUDING REMARKS
- 6. APPENDIX: RECENT DARK ENERGY SCALAR
FIELD RESEARCH
- REFERENCES