Name: VI series of Majorana Lectures - Gabriele Veneziano - Challenges in early- and late-time cosmology
Start: 2017-02-20T10:20:00+01:00
End: 2017-02-22T13:00:00+01:00
Location: Dipartimento di Fisica Ettore Pancini

Monday, 20 February
- 10:20 → 10:30
  
  Opening 10m
  
  Saluti del direttore della sezione di Napoli dell'INFN, Giovanni la Rana, e del direttore del Dipartimento di Fisica "Ettore Pancini", Leonardo Merola.
  
  Speakers: Giovanni La Rana (NA), Leonardo Merola (NA)
- 10:30 → 13:00
  
  The concordance model of cosmology after Planck 2h 30m
  
  I will start by reviewing why we need to abandon the old Hot Big Bang scenario in favor of a new, broadly-defined, inflationary paradigm. I will then argue that, in the absence of quantum mechanics, inflation would not be a viable alternative to the old paradigm and briefly review the mechanism by which a calculable spectrum of cosmological perturbations of quantum origin is generated.
  
  Speaker: Prof. Gabriele Veneziano (Collège de France and CERN)
Tuesday, 21 February
- 10:30 → 13:00
  
  Big bang or Big Bounce? 2h 30m
  
  I will first illustrate the successes of the particular implementation of the inflationary idea known as slow-roll inflation. I will then illustrate a possible alternative to slow-roll inflation suggested by string theory. A comparison of the relative merits of those two implementations of the inflationary paradigm will conclude the early-cosmology part of the course.
  
  Speaker: Prof. Gabriele Veneziano (Collège de France and CERN)
Wednesday, 22 February
- 10:30 → 13:00
  
  Inhomogeneities and precision cosmology 2h 30m
  
  I will discuss the way in which inhomogeneities in the recent and present Universe may affect the determination of basic cosmological parameters. A new adapted coordinate system simplifies considerably the study of light-like signals propagating in an inhomogeneous Universe. I will illustrate this on the so-called Hubble (redshift vs. distance) diagram claiming that inhomogeneities cannot replace dark energy as an explanation for cosmic acceleration. I will conclude with the amusing example of calculating time-of-flight differences for ultra relativistic particles propagating in a non-homogeneous Universe.
  
  Speaker: Prof. Gabriele Veneziano (Collège de France and CERN)

VI series of Majorana Lectures - Gabriele Veneziano - Challenges in early- and late-time cosmology

Aula Caianiello

Dipartimento di Fisica Ettore Pancini

Gabriele Veneziano

(Collège de France and CERN)

Challenges in early- and late-time cosmology