Finding the Big Bang
Cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, has become a precise physical science, the foundation of which is our understanding of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) left from the big bang. The story of the discovery and exploration of the CMBR in the 1960s is recalled for the first time in this collection of 44 essays by eminent scientists who pioneered the work. Two introductory chapters put the essays in context, explaining the general ideas behind the expanding universe...
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Cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, has become a precise physical science, the foundation of which is our understanding of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) left from the Big Bang. The story of the discovery and exploration of the CMBR in the 1960s is recalled for the first time in this collection of 44 essays by eminent scientists who pioneered the work.Two introductory chapters put the essays in context, explaining the general ideas behind the expanding universe and fossil remnants from the early stages of the expanding universe. The last chapter describes how the confusion of ideas and measurements in the 1960s grew into the present tight network of tests that demonstrate the accuracy of the Big Bang theory.This book is valuable to anyone interested in how science is done, and what it has taught us about the large-scale nature of the physical universe.
Preface page xiList of contributors xiv1 Introduction 12 A guide to modern cosmology 92.1 The expanding universe 102.2 The thermal cosmic microwave background radiation 162.3 What is the universe made of? 183 Origins of the cosmology of the 1960s 233.1 Nucleosynthesis in a hot big bang 233.2 Nucleosynthesis in alternative cosmologies 343.3 Thermal radiation from a bouncing universe 403.4 Interstellar molecules and the sea of microwave radiation 423.5 Direct detection of the microwave radiation 443.6 Cosmology in the early 1960s 513.6.1 The steady state cosmology and the cosmological tests 533.6.2 Light elements from the big bang 583.6.3 Radiation from the big bang 603.6.4 Galaxy formation 663.6.5 The situation in the early 1960s 674 Recollections of the 1960s 694.1 Precursor evidence from communications experiments 704.1.1 Early low-noise and related studies at Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ David C. Hogg 704.2 Precursor evidence from interstellar molecules 744.2.1 Conversations with Dicke Neville J. Woolf 744.2.2 Cyanogen and the CMBR George B. Field 754.2.3 Measuring the cosmic microwave background with interstellar molecules Patrick Thaddeus 784.3 Precursor evidence from element abundances 864.3.1 The helium content of the universe Donald E. Osterbrock 864.4 The path to the hot big bang in the Soviet Union 924.4.1 Unforgettable Yakov Zel'dovich Yuri Nikolaevich Smirnov 924.4.2 Cosmology in the Soviet Union in the 1960s Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov 994.4.3 Cosmology in the 1960s Andrei Georgievich Doroshkevich 1074.4.4 When we were young ... Rashid Sunyaev 1084.4.5 Moscow 1968-1969 Malcolm S.Longair 1324.5 Detection at Bell Laboratories 1444.5.1 Encountering cosmology Arno Penzias 1444.5.2 Two astronomical discoveries Robert W. Wilson 1574.6 The Bell Laboratories-Princeton connection 1764.6.1 Radio astronomy from first contacts to the CMBR Bernard F. Burke 1764.6.2 Spreading the word - or how the news went from Princeton to Holmdel Kenneth C. Turner 1844.7 Developments at Princeton 1854.7.1 How I learned physical cosmology P. James E. Peebles 1854.7.2 Measuring the cosmic microwave background radiation David T. Wilkinson 2004.7.3 Recollections of the second measurement of the CMBR at Princeton University in 1965 Peter G. Roll 2134.7.4 Early days of the primeval fireball R. Bruce Partridge 2214.8 Developments at Cambridge 2384.8.1 Cambridge cosmology in the 1960s Malcolm S. Longair 2384.8.2 The day Fred Hoyle thought he had disproved the big bang theory John Faulkner 2444.8.3 An initial impact of the CMBR on nucleosynthesis in big and little bangs Robert V. Wagoner 2584.8.4 Cosmology and relativistic astrophysics in Cambridge Martin Rees 2614.9 Critical reactions to the hot big bang interpretation 2674.9.1 Some comments on the early history of the CMBR Geoffrey R. Burbridge Jayant V. Narlikar 2674.9.2 My reaction to the discovery of the CMBR David Layzer 2754.9.3 Not the correct explanation for the CMBR Michele Kaufman 2794.10 Measuring the CMBR energy spectrum 2804.10.1 The CMB - how to observe and not see Jasper V. Wall 2804.10.2 Early CMBR observations at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory John R. Shakeshaft 2884.10.3 Experiments with the CMBR William "Jack" Welch 2934.10.4 Investigation of the background radiation in the early years of its discovery Kazimir S. Stankevich 2964.10.5 Testing the fireball hypothesis Paul Boynton 3024.10.6 Early spectral measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation Robert A. Stokes 3234.10.7 An attempt at detecting the cosmic background radiation in the early 1960s Martin Harwit 3294.10.8 Being a young graduate student in interesting times - Ignoring the forest for the trees Judith L. Pipher 3394.10.9 The big bang, brighter than a thousand suns Kandiah Shivanandan 3404.10.10 CMBR research at MIT shortly after the discovery - is there a blackbody peak? Rainer Weiss 3424.11 Structure in the distributions of matter and radiation 3614.11.1 Clusters and superclusters of galaxies Yu Jer-tsang 3614.11.2 The synergy of mathematics and physics Rainer K. Sachs 3644.11.3 CMBR reminiscences Arthur M. Wolfe 3684.11.4 A journey through time Joe Silk 3714.11.5 The cosmic background radiation and the initial singularity George F. R. Ellis 3794.12 Measuring the CMBR anisotropy 3854.12.1 Early cosmic background studies at Stanford Radio Astronomy Institute Ronald N. Bracewell Edward K. Conklin 3854.12.2 The early days of the CMBR - An undergraduate's perspective Stephen Boughn 3934.12.3 Going the "easy" direction - and finding a lot of the wrong thing Karl C. Davis 3974.12.4 Driven to drink - pursuit of the cosmic microwave background radiation Paul S. Henry 4015 Cosmology and the CMBR since the 1960s 4085.1 The CMBR energy spectrum 4125.2 The aether drift 4245.3 The CMBR intrinsic anisotropy spectrum 4345.3.1 Theoretical concepts 4345.3.2 Advances in the anisotropy measurements and analysis 4475.4 The cosmological tests 4655.5 Lessons 475Appendix 478Glossary 510References 531Index 561
