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SUMMARY:"Beyond the Big Bang: a new view of cosmology"
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120719T143000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120719T153000Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20130519T220809Z
UID:indico-event-199691@cern.ch
DESCRIPTION:The inflationary universe scenario has dominated the field of 
 cosmology for three decades. However\, it has major limitations. What prec
 eded inflation? Can one avoid fine tuning of initial conditions\nand param
 eters? Can one conceive of a completion of the scenario which resolves the
  big bang singularity and explains the dark energy now coming to dominate?
  Are we forced to resort to anthropic explanations? \n\nIn this talk\, I w
 ill develop an alternate picture\, in which the big bang singularity is re
 solved and in which the value of the dark energy might be fixed by physica
 l processes. The key is a resolution of the singularity. Using a combinati
 on of arguments\,involving M theory and holography as well as analytic con
 tinuation in time within the low energy effective theory\, I argue that th
 ere is a unique way to match cosmic evolution across the big bang singular
 ity. The latter is no longer the beginning of time but is instead the gate
 way to an eternal\, cyclical universe. If time permits\, I shall describe 
 new work connecting this picture to LHC's recent discoveries concerning th
 e electroweak Higgs.\n\nhttp://indico.cern.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=
 199691
LOCATION:CERN Council Chamber
URL:http://indico.cern.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=199691
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