Speaker Name:
Jean-Philippe Uzan
Speaker Affiliation:
Institut d'Astropysique de Paris & Laboratoire de Physique Theorique, Universite D'Orsay
Talk Subject:
Topology and Cosmology
Date:
02/21/2003 - 14:00
The universe is usually described by a Friedmann-Lemaitre spacetime with spatial sections of constant curvature. The geometry of these spatial sections can be obtained from the Einstein equations. However many topologies are compatible with a given geometry. In this talk, I will recall the status of the search for the global topology of our Universe. I will first describe the topology as seen by a physicist in order to understand the kind of observational effects we are expecting [in particular, I will use some visualisation software written by one my collaborator Jeffrey Weeks that can be used for teaching topology]. I will then explain what cosmic microwave background is and discuss the imprint of topology.