Priya Natarajan, a Yale cosmologist and author of Mapping the Heavens, delves into the mysteries of the universe. She discusses gravitational lensing and its role in unlocking secrets about dark matter. Natarajan explores how black holes influence galaxy dynamics and star formation, highlighting their unexpected significance. She also addresses the evolving theories of cold dark matter and the recent cosmic anomalies challenging our understanding, emphasizing the collaborative spirit that drives modern cosmology forward.
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insights INSIGHT
Large-Scale Structure of the Universe
The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate and filled with dark matter, an unknown substance.
Ordinary matter aggregates and clumps together due to gravity, forming stars and galaxies within dark matter cocoons.
insights INSIGHT
Cold Dark Matter Paradigm
The standard cold dark matter model suggests that structures in the universe formed from tiny initial fluctuations amplified by gravity.
This theory is supported by evidence from the cosmic microwave background radiation and the distribution of galaxies.
insights INSIGHT
Big Bang Model
The Big Bang and expanding universe model are well-established, with current research focusing on nuances and specific details.
Key open questions include the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
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The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos
Priyamvada Natarajan
In 'Mapping the Heavens', Priyamvada Natarajan chronicles the transformative ideas in cosmology over the last hundred years, highlighting how new technologies have enabled us to better understand the cosmos. The book discusses topics such as dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and the evolution of our understanding of the universe.
There is so much we don’t know about our universe. But our curiosity about the unknown shouldn’t blind us to the incredible progress we have made in cosmology over the last century. We know the universe is big, expanding, and accelerating. Modern cosmologists are using unprecedentedly precise datasets to uncover more details about the evolution and structure of galaxies and the distribution and nature of dark matter. Priya Natarajan is a cosmologist working at the interface of data, theory, and simulation. We talk about the state of modern cosmology, and how tools like gravitational lensing are providing us with detailed views of what’s happening in the distant universe.
Priya Natarajan received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge. She is currently professor of astronomy at Yale University, the Sophie and Tycho Brahe Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, and an honorary professor for life at the University of Delhi, India. She is an Affiliate at the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University and an Associate Member of the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute in New York. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and other publications. Among her awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, the India Abroad Foundation’s “Face of the Future” Award, and an India Empire NRI award for Achievement in the Sciences. She is the author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos.
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