Cosmology, building blocks of universe to be discussed at SU’s ‘Tuesday Night Lecture Series’ Feb. 26

Cosmology, building blocks of universe to be discussed at SU’s ‘Tuesday Night Lecture Series’ Feb. 26February 25, 2008SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

Cosmology — the study of the origin and structure of the universe — is the topic of the next “Tuesday Night Lecture Series,” presented by Syracuse University’s physics department, on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Alumni Professor of Physics Mark Trodden will give a presentation titled “Modern Cosmology and the Building Blocks of the Universe” at 7 p.m. in Stolkin Auditorium on the SU campus. The event is free and open to the public.

In the first half of his presentation, Trodden will provide a brief overview of cosmology, focusing on a series of recent groundbreaking experiments. “These experiments provide evidence that the universe is composed of roughly four percent `ordinary matter’ — the stuff of the Periodic Table; 26 percent `dark matter,’ whose nature is mostly unknown; and 70 percent `dark energy,’ which is completely unknown,” he says. In the second half, Trodden will address questions and issues facing modern-day cosmologists.

Trodden’s research concerns the interplay between gravity and particle physics in the very early universe — in particular, cosmological implications of quantum field theories, general relativity and superstring theories. “The challenge of modern cosmology is using these seemingly different aspects of physics to explain how a young, hot, small universe became the old, cold, huge cosmos we see today,” he says. Trodden is also among a growing group of researchers at SU involved in a new interdisciplinary initiative exploring cosmology through a variety of “messengers,” including electromagnetic waves, cosmic rays and gravitational waves. The “Tuesday Night Lecture Series” is free and open to the public. Discounted parking is available to non-SU students and employees for $3.25 in the Irving Garage, off of Stadium Place. For more information, call (315) 443-3901 or visit http://www.phy.syr.edu/TuesdayNight/index.html. The physics department is an academic unit of The College of Arts and Sciences at SU.