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Cosmology and Religion — an Outsider's Study

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Cosmology and Religion — an Outsider's Study Cosmology and Religion — An Outsider’s Study (Big Bang and Creation) Dezs˝oHorváth [email protected] KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (RMKI), Budapest and Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), Debrecen Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 1/46 Outline Big Bang, Inflation. Lemaître and Einstein. Evolution and Religion. Big Bang and Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. Saint Augustine on Creation. Saint Augustine on Time. John Paul II and Stephen Hawking. Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 2/46 Warning Physics is an exact science (collection of formulae) It is based on precise mathematical formalism. A theory is valid if quantities calculated with it agree with experiment. Real physical terms are measurable quantities, words are just words. Behind the words there are precise mathematics and experimental evidence What and how: Physics Why: philosopy? And theology? Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 3/46 What is Cosmology? Its subject is the Universe as a whole. How did it form? (Not why?) Static, expanding or shrinking? Open or closed? Its substance, composition? Its past and future? Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 4/46 The Story of the Big Bang Theory Red Shift of Distant Galaxies Henrietta S. Leavitt Vesto Slipher Distances to galaxies Red shift of galaxies 1908–1912 1912 Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 5/46 Expanding Universe Cosmological principle: if the expansion linear A. Friedmann v(B/A) = v(C/B) ⇒ v(C/A)=2v(B/A) the Universe is homogeneous, it has no special point. Expanding metric (space, coordinates) local gravity ⇒ local inhomogenity Alexander Friedmann, 1922 and Georges Lemaître, 1927 theoretically deduced from general relativity G. Lemaître Nobody believed it (least of all Einstein) Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 6/46 Hypothesis of the Primeval Atom Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Edouard Lemaître (1894 – 1966) Belgian catholic priest and physics professor (Catholic University of Leuven) G. Lemaître: The Beginning of the World from the Point of View of Quantum Theory, Nature 127 (1931) 706. The Cosmic Egg exploding at the moment of the creation (A Day Without Yesterday) A sarcastic Fred Hoyle who believed in a steady Universe: Big Bang theory Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 7/46 Lemaître and Einstein Einstein in 1927 on Lemaître’s deduction of an expanding Universe on the basis of general relativity: Your math is correct, but your physics is abominable Einstein in 1933 at a conference, after Lemaître’s presentation of the Hypothesis of the Primeval Atom (although he did not quite believe it): This is the most beautiful and satisfactory explanation of creation to which I have ever listened Lemaître and Einstein, 1933 Slowly developing experimental-theoretical evidence for 30 years Final proof: Cosmic background radiation, 1964 Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 8/46 Cosmic background radiation Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, 1964 (Nobel Prize, 1978) Irreducible microwave background radiation Model: T = 3 K cosmic MW background (CMB) COBE: COsmic Background Experiment T = 2, 728 K, precise temperature curve Cooling of primordial 3000 K photons at (1000-fold!) expansion Local spatial anisotropy: seeds of galaxy formation (Quantum fluctuations before inflation (fast expansion)?) Much more precise confirmation: WMAP: Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe John C. Mather and George F. Smoot (COBE): The COBE space probe Nobel Prize, 2006 Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 9/46 Anisotropy of WMAP, 2001-2003 Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 10/46 The Big Bang Theory Visible matter: ∼ 75% hydrogen, ∼ 25% helium, < 1% rest Hydrogen → helium in stars only, how come so much? ⇒ hot primordial Universe Origin of Cosmic Microwave Background: 30 min after Big Bang: plasma, T = 300 000 000 K. Radiation dominates, photons in opaque (non-transparent) medium of charged particles 380000 years: cooling to 3000 K, neutral atoms, transparent for photons By now: space expansion, photons cooled down Origin of galaxies: Space anisotropy ⇒ gravity wells of dark matter ⇒ dense baryonic matter ⇒ stars form Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 11/46 Big Bang, Inflation, Radiation Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 12/46 Hubble telescope: Deep Universe Observation of a dark spot for 250 days ⇒ > 10000 young galaxies more than 1010 years ago Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 13/46 Hubble telescope: results Formation of first galaxies 500-800 million years after Big Bang already Early galaxies are smaller and less symmetric ⇒ fast formation Black holes in centers of galaxies usual On the farthest pictures formation of stars seen Part of Ultra Deep Field picture galaxies 1010 years ago Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 14/46 Time sequence after Big Bang Event time temperature ρ1/4 Planck time (inflation ↓?) 10−36 s 1018 GeV Grand Unification 10−32 s 1016 GeV Electroweak ↑? (bariogenesis) 10−6 s 1015 K 100 GeV Quarks → hadrons 10−4 s 1012 K 100 MeV Nucleons 1–1000 s 109 − 1010 K 0,1 – 1 MeV Decoupling 105 year 2500 K 0,1 eV Structure formation > 105 year Today 13,7 G year 2,7 K 3 · 10−4 eV Present picture: accelerating expansion of the Universe Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 15/46 Dark energy?? Cosmological constant: Λ > 0 Einstein’s biggest blunder, but true Gravitating energy of vacuum, > 70% of the total mass! Large after Big Bang, smaller in early Universe, grows with space expansion Dominant today. What is it? Not vacuum energy: lower by 10−120! (World record for disagreement between theory and experiment :-) Not really energy, constant in an equation! Many models, speculations: inflaton, quintessence, multiverse... Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 16/46 Matter balance today 2 Friedmann equation (X0: value today, normalized by /H0 ) 8πG kc2 Λ 2 2 (ρ 0+ ρ 0) − 2 2 + 2 ≡ 3H0 c R M a0H0 3H0 ΩR + ΩM − Ωk + ΩΛ = 1 Radiation + matter - curvature + cosm. const. = 1 Universe is flat if Ω0 = ΩR + ΩM + ΩΛ = 1 Present picture: flat, matter-dominated (ΩM >> ΩR) Universe Cosmological parameters: ΩR, ΩM = ΩB + ΩCDM, ΩΛ, H0 Radiation small, ΩR ∼ 0 Baryonic matter (stars, black holes, dust, gas): ΩB ∼ 4% Clustering, non-baryonic, cold dark matter: ΩCDM ∼ 22% Accelerating expansion: dark energy ΩΛ ∼ 74% Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 17/46 The Story So Far Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 18/46 Evolution and Religion Evolution is crucial for interpretation of Big Bang Protestantism mostly rejects evolution Pius XII already in the 1950’s accepted a partial evolution. Vatican now fully accepts it. Pope Pius XII Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 19/46 Pope John Paul II on Evolution John Paul II, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 1996: Today ... new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory. http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_jp02tc.htm Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 20/46 Evolution and the Vatican February 2009: Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican conference for the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: Although Vatican was hostile to Darwin’s theory in the past, ... it has never been formally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, nor was the book banned. The idea of evolution could be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 21/46 St Thomas Aquinas on Evolution Saint Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274): Summa Theologica http://www.newadvent.org/summa/ For St. Thomas primordial matter is the common ground of substantial change, the element of indetermination in corporeal beings. It is a pure potentiality ... It is produced out of nothing and can only cease to be by falling back into nothingness. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10053b.htm Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 22/46 Protestantism: Reformed Church As the Reformed Church is not hierarchical, I could not find official statements, but what I found on the web did not support evolution or the Bing Bang theory, interpreting the Holy Script literally. Reformed Church in America http://www.rca.org Protestant Reformed Church in America http://www.prca.org The first attack against Holy Scripture is rooted in the theory of the Big Bang. This false teaching ... maintains... (Beacon Lights, Vol. LIX, No. 7; July 2000) ... claims that the world had its origin in a "big bang" and that man came from a monkey. It is all rather silly to claim to find such preposterous things ... Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, April 1997, p. 35 Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 23/46 Protestantism: Evangelists Evangelical Lutheran Church in America http://www.elca.org Discussion forum on evolution and cosmology Search: Cosmology — 83 papers, Big Bang — 101 papers Essays of Big Bang as possible Creation and the role of God. They watch and discuss both science and Vatican theology Dezs˝oHorváth: Cosmology and religion Wien, 10.03.2010 – p. 24/46 Judaism and Modern Science http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism /FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought/section-4.html Judaism has a long tradition of not interpreting the creation narrative of Genesis 1 literally Maimonides: Literal reading of the opening of Bereshis [Genesis] is for the masses.
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