DOCSLIB.ORG

Report for the Academic Year 2010-2011

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Report for the Academic Year 2010-2011 IASInstitute for Advanced Study Report for the Academic Year 2010–2011 t is fundamental in our purpose, and our express I. desire, that in the appointments to the staff and faculty as well as in the admission of workers and students, no account shall be taken, directly or indirectly, of race, religion, or sex. We feel strongly that the spirit characteristic of America at its noblest, above all the pursuit of higher learning, cannot admit of any conditions as to personnel other than those designed to promote the objects for which this institution is established, and particularly with no regard whatever to accidents of race, creed, or sex. Extract from the letter addressed by the Institute’s Founders, Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld, to the first Board of Trustees, dated June 4, 1930 Newark, New Jersey Cover: Freeman Dyson, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, Bloomberg Hall Photo: Andrea Kane The Institute for Advanced Study exists to encourage and support fundamental research in the sciences and humanities—the original, often speculative, thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world. THE SCHOOL OF HISTORICAL STUDIES, established in 1949 with the merging of the School of Economics and Politics and the School of Humanistic Studies, is concerned principally with the history of Western European, Near Eastern, and East Asian civilizations. The School actively promotes interdisciplinary research and cross-fertilization of ideas. THE SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS, established in 1933, was the first School at the Institute for Advanced Study. Several central themes in math- ematics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries owe their major impetus to discoveries that have taken place in the School, which today is an inter- national center for research on mathematics and computer science. The School sponsors, jointly with Princeton University, the Program for Women and Mathematics. THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES, established in 1966, supports research in broad areas of theoretical physics, astronomy, and systems biology. Areas of current interest include elementary particle physics, string theory, quantum theory, and quantum gravity; investigating the origin and compo- sition of the universe; and conducting research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences.The School sponsors Prospects inTheoretical Physics, a program for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, founded in 1973, takes as its mission the analysis of societies and social change and is devoted to a multi- disciplinary, comparative, and international approach to social research and the examination of historical and contemporary problems. Institute for Advanced Study SPECIAL PROGRAMS include the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies, which explores different ways of viewing the world; the Artist-in-Residence Program; Director’sVisitors; the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute, which aims to increase awareness of the roles of professionals in all mathematics- based occupations; and the Science Initiative Group, dedicated to building science capacity in the developing world. INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY 2 IASInstitute for Advanced Study 5 Background and Purpose 6 Report of the Chairman 7 Report of the Director 9 Report of the School of Historical Studies 25 Report of the School of Mathematics 43 Report of the School of Natural Sciences 63 Report of the School of Social Science 71 Report of the Institute Libraries 72 The IAS Community 77 Reports of the Special Programs Contents 88 Acknowledgments 96 Founders,Trustees, and Officers of the Board and of the Corporation 97 Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 98 Present and Past Directors and Faculty xx Independent Auditors’ Report 3 ANDREA KANE The Institute for Advanced Study is a community of scholars whose purpose is the pursuit of advanced learning and scholarly exploration. Here, scholars converse outside of Fuld Hall during teatime. Background and Purpose he Institute for Advanced Study was founded in 1930 with a major gift from New Jersey businessman and philanthropist Louis Bamberger and his sister Caroline Bamberger Fuld, who wished to use their Tfortunes to make a significant and lasting contribution to society. They sought the advice of educator Abraham Flexner, who developed the concept of the Institute as a community of scholars whose primary purpose would be the pursuit of advanced learning and scholarly exploration. The Institute for Advanced Study has remained committed to its founding principles, and its record of definitive scholarship and scientific achievement is unsurpassed. The Institute fills a unique role in postgraduate education and scientific and scholarly research. As “the university to universities,” in the words of Trustee Vartan Gregorian, the Institute serves all colleges and universities by providing a place where scholars can hone their skills and do their best work, thereby adding substantially to their ability to contribute as both teachers and scholars to the academic institutions where they base their careers. For young scholars just entering the academic world, an opportunity to work at the Institute can set the direction for lifelong research The Institute’s foremost interests and thereby determine professional careers. The Institute provides more objective is the advancement mature scholars with the opportunity to take new directions in their research or to complete a major piece of work away from the many obligations of working of knowledge and the life at a university. At a time when pure research and scholarly activities are deepening of understanding undervalued, the opportunities that the Institute provides have never been more across a broad range of necessary. The Institute’s foremost objective is the advancement of knowledge and the humanities, sciences, the deepening of understanding across a broad range of the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. and social sciences. One of the Institute’s unique strengths is its permanent Faculty of twenty-eight eminent scholars, whose broad interests and extensive ties to the larger academic world are reflected in their own work and also in the guidance and direction they provide to the Institute’s visiting scholars. The Faculty defines the major themes and questions that become the focus of each School’s seminars and other activities, and selects and works closely with visiting Members. Organized in four Schools (Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science), the Faculty and Members interact with one anoth- er without any departmental or disciplinary barriers. BACKGROUNDANDPURPOSE Each year the Institute awards fellowships to some 190 visiting Members from about one hundred universities and research institutions throughout the world. The Institute’s more than six thousand former Members hold positions of intellectual and scientific leadership in the United States and abroad. Some twenty-seven Nobel Laureates and thirty-eight out of fifty-two Fields Medalists, as well as many winners of the Wolf and MacArthur prizes, have been affiliated with the Institute.The Institute does not receive income from tuition or fees; resources for operations come from endowment income, grants from private foundations and government agencies, and gifts from corporations and individuals. 5 Report of the Chairman he founding of the Institute for Advanced Study originated in part with a question: “Have you ever dreamed a dream?”Abraham Flexner, an expert on higher education, posed it to Samuel Leidesdorf, an Taccountant and business adviser, and Herbert Maass, an attorney, who had approached Flexner on behalf of philanthropists Louis Bamberger and his sister Caroline Bamberger Fuld. Flexner’s dream of estab- lishing an institution dedicated to the pursuit of curiosity-driven research prompted the Bambergers to donate $5 million to establish the Institute in 1930. The Institute’s role in promoting and cultivating original scholarship in the sciences and humanities has been unparalleled for more than eighty years. Today, it is of the utmost importance to sustain the work of the Institute whose renown and reach draws leading scholars from around the world, providing them with the freedom to pursue their research in an environment dedicated to the advancement of ideas and knowledge. My wife Lisa and I, together with James Simons, aVice Chairman of the Board, and his wife Marilyn, are honored to play a role in contributing to the strong foundation for the Institute’s future with a $100 million unrestricted challenge grant from the Simons Foundation and the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences. This donation will serve as the basis for a $200 million campaign to strengthen the Institute’s endowment.The Insti- tute must raise the remaining $100 million from other sources within the next four years, with all donations matched dollar for dollar by the Simons Foundation and the Simonyi Fund. The $200 million campaign will ensure that the Institute is able to continue its essential role in fostering fundamental research that advances our understanding of the world. The main goal of the campaign is to raise new endowment funds that will allow the Institute to keep its draw on the endowment at an acceptable level over the long term. The stability and health of the Institute’s endowment is essential because the institution relies on endowment income for approximately three-quarters of its operating expenses. It
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Is the Universe Expanding?: an Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 6-1996 Is the Universe Expanding?: An Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew David A. Vlosak Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Cosmology, Relativity, and Gravity Commons Recommended Citation Vlosak, David A., "Is the Universe Expanding?: An Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew" (1996). Master's Theses. 3474. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3474 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IS THEUN IVERSE EXPANDING?: AN HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE FOR COSMOLOGISTS STAR TING ANEW by David A Vlasak A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe Degree of Master of Arts Department of Philosophy Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 1996 IS THE UNIVERSE EXPANDING?: AN HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE FOR COSMOLOGISTS STARTING ANEW David A Vlasak, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1996 This study addresses the problem of how scientists ought to go about resolving the current crisis in big bang cosmology. Although this problem can be addressed by scientists themselves at the level of their own practice, this study addresses it at the meta­ level by using the resources offered by philosophy of science. There are two ways to resolve the current crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • Parallel Sessions
    Identification of Dark Matter July 23-27, 2012 9th International Conference Chicago, IL http://kicp-workshops.uchicago.edu/IDM2012/ PARALLEL SESSIONS http://kicp.uchicago.edu/ http://www.nsf.gov/ http://www.uchicago.edu/ http://www.fnal.gov/ International Advisory Committee Daniel Akerib Elena Aprile Rita Bernabei Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University, USA Universita degli Studi di Roma, Italy Cleveland, USA Gianfranco Bertone Joakim Edsjo Katherine Freese University of Amsterdam Oskar Klein Centre / Stockholm University of Michigan, USA University Richard Gaitskell Gilles Gerbier Anne Green Brown University, USA IRFU/ CEA Saclay, France University of Nottingham, UK Karsten Jedamzik Xiangdong Ji Lawrence Krauss Universite de Montpellier, France University of Maryland, USA Arizona State University, USA Vitaly Kudryavtsev Reina Maruyama Leszek Roszkowski University of Sheffield University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Sheffield, UK Bernard Sadoulet Pierre Salati Daniel Santos University of California, Berkeley, USA University of California, Berkeley, USA LPSC/UJF/CNRS Pierre Sikivie Daniel Snowden-Ifft Neil Spooner University of Florida, USA Occidental College University of Sheffield, UK Max Tegmark Karl van Bibber Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, Research at MIT, USA USA Local Organizing Committee Daniel Bauer Matthew Buckley Juan Collar Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics Scott Dodelson Aimee
    [Show full text]
  • Report for the Academic Year 1995
    Institute /or ADVANCED STUDY REPORT FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1994 - 95 PRINCETON NEW JERSEY Institute /or ADVANCED STUDY REPORT FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1 994 - 95 OLDEN LANE PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 08540-0631 609-734-8000 609-924-8399 (Fax) Extract from the letter addressed by the Founders to the Institute's Trustees, dated June 6, 1930. Newark, New jersey. It is fundamental in our purpose, and our express desire, that in the appointments to the staff and faculty, as well as in the admission of workers and students, no account shall be taken, directly or indirectly, of race, religion, or sex. We feel strongly that the spirit characteristic of America at its noblest, above all the pursuit of higher learning, cannot admit of any conditions as to personnel other than those designed to promote the objects for which this institution is established, and particularly with no regard whatever to accidents of race, creed, or sex. TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 5 • FOUNDERS, TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE BOARD AND OF THE CORPORATION 8 • ADMINISTRATION 11 REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN 15 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 23 • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 27 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF HISTORICAL STUDIES ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS, VISITORS AND RESEARCH STAFF 36 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS AND VISITORS 42 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS AND VISITORS 50 • REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES MEMBERS, VISITORS AND RESEARCH STAFF 55 • REPORT OF THE INSTITUTE LIBRARIES 57 • RECORD OF INSTITUTE EVENTS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1994-95 85 • INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Institute for Advanced Study is an independent, nonprofit institution devoted to the encouragement of learning and scholarship.
    [Show full text]
  • New Beginnings
    NEW BEGINNINGS A three-year report of Eklavya Foundation 2001-2004 NEW BEGINNINGS A three vi'ar report of the Ikb\\a I ouruiatinn fJQOl Jun/j i We gratffulli a. k now ledpc tor Design. IOVLM illu-itMtion & le<if motif: Urijii Moh.mly. IDC. NT F'OVM^I, Murnbai Sketches Mrm.r.wmi 1 ^td Ravnuird & AntdM HjzanK.i Murnhni ic This honor, uy piojoU Inciu'.ti i.il D ,icjn C^ntif, MF P'j\\-ii. Mun.h.ii Eklavya Foundation H(Hji'.U>u>rJ Vu itMy No S l *n I ) H U--H .-/> 1 lh.' 1 ' 1 -- Mi'qiM(M(KlUtfic" H .' i. .VKM!. W.M U..lhi , O'uj ' ' ".." i " ' AM (l(.jt|.|ir In | U.'.-v.i i" 't!|i l-i, mi*, i.j, ,M.-t ,"H.'I.. :i ] J,)I)M 1- * ' 1 >' ' l I ; v'lil- '-! i i- ' .. ii i'. .i J /()(.)/ [ '! .'11" ',-,* ? ;i' ! \ i i i I)' .'. )! _>f [ ^h Jciiuuirv <?Ol)S '.'Jon uj l ontnhutoiy put i <-, sn Published In Eklavya L / Hir,-1',^ Arer.u olony Phone 0755 246 3380, 246 4824 - Fax: 0755 246 1 703 Email eklavyampfj'mantrdfteenet corn Printed at ' Bhanclan Otis*.". Pnnti-rs Arfj v.n!c>nv Bliou.u P ( iont- /-it; i Contents The dismantling oKwiMon People's voices Report of cK-tiviLies(;OOl Foreword In this report we share with you a truly momentous leg of our long journey Two events impacted significantly on the structure and work of Eklavya. One was the closure of our collaborative middle school educational programmes by the Madhya Pradesh government in July 2002 The second was the bifurcation of Eklavya into two autonomous units - a 'school education and publication' group and a'rural development'group.The latter was registered as a new society on August 1 1, 2003 as the Samavesh Society for Development and Governance.
    [Show full text]
  • Explorations of Non-Supersymmetric Black Holes in Supergravity
    Explorations of Non-Supersymmetric Black Holes in Supergravity by Anthony M. Charles A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Physics) in the University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Professor Finn Larsen, Chair Associate Professor Lydia Bieri Professor Henriette Elvang Professor James Liu Associate Professor Jeff McMahon Anthony M. Charles [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1851-458X c Anthony M. Charles 2018 Dedication To my wife, my love, and my everything, Emily. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Finn Larsen, for his incredibly thoughtful guidance and collaboration throughout the course of my graduate career. I am also grateful to the wonder- ful faculty at the University of Michigan. In particular, I would like to thank Ratindranath Akhoury, Henriette Elvang, and Jim Liu for their unending support and advice over the last five years. I owe a lot to the incredibly talented students and postdocs in the high energy theory group at the University of Michigan. Special thanks goes to Sebastian Ellis, John Golden, Gino Knodel, Pedro Lisbao, Daniel Mayerson, Tim Olson, and Vimal Rathee for being some of the most brilliant and engaging people I've ever known. I would be remiss if I didn't thank all of my wonderful friends for making my time in Michigan an absolute joy. In particular, I would like to thank Alec, Ansel, Emily Y., Glenn, Hannah, Jessie, Joe, John, Meryl, Midhat, Natasha, and Peter. You are the best friends I've ever had, and I wouldn't be where I am today without you.
    [Show full text]
  • 16 February 2016 Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar Vice Chancellor
    16 February 2016 Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar Vice Chancellor Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi-110 067, India Dear Prof. Kumar, We are writing, as a group of academics, to express our deep disappointment with your actions in the event leading up to the arrest of several students last week. We understand that last Tuesday, a student group organized a rally to commemorate the death anniversary of Afzal Guru. The police alleges that some of the students voiced controversial opinions. The police then proceeded to arrest the president of the JNU Students Union, Kanhaiya Kumar, and charged him with sedition. This has been followed by a number of further arrests. What is most disturbing is that the JNU administration appears to have defended and aided these repressive actions by the police, rather than defending the students who were involved in a non-violent activity. The arrest of the president of the JNUSU is especially troublesome since he was not even an organizer of the rally but merely present to express his solidarity. However, even as far the organizers and the speakers at the event are concerned, we hope that you recognize that expressing controversial views in a peaceful forum cannot be equated with sedition. For example, many people believe that Afzal Guru was let down by a lack of appropriate legal representation in his trial, and that his execution was therefore a grave miscarriage of justice. One may agree or disagree with this viewpoint — and, indeed, signatories to this letter hold different positions — but we are unanimous that students should have the right to freely discuss this issue.
    [Show full text]
  • Asian Nobel Prize' for Mapping the Universe 27 May 2010
    Scientists win 'Asian Nobel Prize' for mapping the universe 27 May 2010 Three US scientists whose work helped map the category. universe are among the recipients of the one- million-US-dollar Shaw Prize, known as the "Asian (c) 2010 AFP Nobel," the competition's organisers said Thursday. Princeton University professors Lyman Page and David Spergel and Charles Bennett of Johns Hopkins University, won the award for an experiment that helped to determine the "geometry, age and composition of the universe to unprecedented precision." The trio will share the Shaw Prize's award for astronomy, with one-million-US-dollar prizes also awarded in the categories for mathematical sciences and life sciences and medicine. The University of California's David Julius won the award for life sciences and medicine for his "seminal discoveries" of how the skin senses pain and temperature, the organisers' statement said. "(Julius's) work has provided insights into fundamental mechanisms underlying the sense of touch as well as knowledge that opens the door to rational drug design for the treatment of chronic pain," the statement said. Princeton's Jean Bourgain won an award for his "profound work" in mathematical sciences, it said. The Shaw Prize, funded by Hong Kong film producer and philanthropist Run Run Shaw and first awarded in 2004, honours exceptional contributions "to the advancement of civilization and the well-being of humankind." The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Hong Kong on September 28. Last year, two scientists whose work challenged the assumption that obesity is caused by a lack of will power won the life sciences and medicine 1 / 2 APA citation: Scientists win 'Asian Nobel Prize' for mapping the universe (2010, May 27) retrieved 27 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2010-05-scientists-asian-nobel-prize-universe.html This document is subject to copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Peter Goldreich Member of the Board of Adjudicators Chairman of the Selection Committee for the Prize in Astronomy
    The Shaw Prize The Shaw Prize is an international award to honour individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or who in other domains have achieved excellence. The award is dedicated to furthering societal progress, enhancing quality of life, and enriching humanity’s spiritual civilization. Preference is to be given to individuals whose significant work was recently achieved and who are currently active in their respective fields. Founder's Biographical Note The Shaw Prize was established under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw. Mr Shaw, born in China in 1907, was a native of Ningbo County, Zhejiang Province. He joined his brother’s film company in China in the 1920s. During the 1950s he founded the film company Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited in Hong Kong. He was one of the founding members of Television Broadcasts Limited launched in Hong Kong in 1967. Mr Shaw also founded two charities, The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong and The Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust, both dedicated to the promotion of education, scientific and technological research, medical and welfare services, and culture and the arts. ~ 1 ~ Message from the Chief Executive I warmly congratulate the six Shaw Laureates of 2014. Established in 2002 under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw, the Shaw Prize is a highly prestigious recognition of the role that scientists play in shaping the development of a modern world. Since the first award in 2004, 54 leading international scientists have been honoured for their ground-breaking discoveries which have expanded the frontiers of human knowledge and made significant contributions to humankind.
    [Show full text]
  • David Spergel Is the Director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics and the Charles Young Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University
    David Spergel is the director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics and the Charles Young Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University. He is the former chair of the Space Studies Board. Using microwave background observations from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, Spergel has measured the age, shape and composition of the universe. These observations have played a significant role in establishing the standard model of cosmology. He is one of the leaders of the Simons Observatory, which will include a planned millimeter-wave telescope that will allow us to take the next step in studying the microwave sky and probing the history of the universe. Spergel is currently co-chair of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) science team. WFIRST will study the nature of dark energy, complete the demographic survey of extrasolar planets, characterize the atmospheres of nearby planets and survey the universe with more than 100 times the field of view of the Hubble Space Telescope. Spergel has played a significant role in designing the coronagraph and in shaping the overall mission. Since completing my Ph.D. work, Spergel has been interested in using laboratory experiments and astronomical observations to probe the nature of dark matter and look for new physics. Recently, Spergel has been active in the exploration of data from the Gaia satellite and observations made by Subaru’s Hyper Suprime-Cam. Spergel serves as co-chair of the Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics working group of the International Astronomical Union. At Princeton, Spergel was department chair for a decade.
    [Show full text]
  • Academic Report 2009–10
    Academic Report 2009–10 Harish-Chandra Research Institute Chhatnag Road, Jhunsi, Allahabad 211019 Contents About the Institute 2 Director’s Report 4 Governing Council 8 Academic Staff 10 Administrative Staff 14 Academic Report: Mathematics 16 Academic Report: Physics 47 Workshops and Conferences 150 Recent Graduates 151 Publications 152 Preprints 163 About the Computer Section 173 Library 174 Construction Work 176 1 About the Institute Early Years The Harish-Chandra Research Institute is one of the premier research institute in the country. It is an autonomous institute fully funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. Till October 10, 2000 the Institute was known as Mehta Research Institute of Mathematics and Mathematical Physics (MRI) after which it was renamed as Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) after the internationally acclaimed mathematician, late Prof Harish-Chandra. The Institute started with efforts of Dr. B. N. Prasad, a mathematician at the University of Allahabad with initial support from the B. S. Mehta Trust, Kolkata. Dr. Prasad was succeeded in January 1966 by Dr. S. R. Sinha, also of Allahabad University. He was followed by Prof. P. L. Bhatnagar as the first formal Director. After an interim period in January 1983, Prof. S. S. Shrikhande joined as the next Director of the Institute. During his tenure the dialogue with the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) entered into decisive stage and a review committee was constituted by the DAE to examine the Institutes fu- ture. In 1985 N. D. Tiwari, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, agreed to provide sufficient land for the Institute and the DAE promised financial sup- port for meeting both the recurring and non-recurring expenditure.
    [Show full text]
  • Dissertation Siska De Baerdemaeker
    Cosmology: The Impossible Integration? by Siska De Baerdemaeker B.A., Philosophy, KU Leuven, 2012 M.A. Philosophy, KU Leuven, 2013 B.Sc. Physics, KU Leuven, 2014 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2020 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Siska De Baerdemaeker It was defended on March 31st 2020 and approved by John Norton, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh Arthur Kosowsky, Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh Sandra Mitchell, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh James Woodward, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh Dissertation Director: John Norton, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh ii Copyright c by Siska De Baerdemaeker 2020 iii Cosmology: The Impossible Integration? Siska De Baerdemaeker, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2020 My dissertation introduces a new account of how empirical methods and lines of evidence can come to bear on cosmological model-building. Through a careful study of the recent history of cosmology and dark matter research, I explicate a new type of justification for ex- periments, a `method-driven logic'. This structure of justification underlies terrestrial exper- iments researching dark matter and dark energy, but it is more generally prevalent in cases of an underdescribed target. Using a method-driven logic comes with a cost, however. Specif- ically, interpreting the empirical results of experiments justified through a method-driven logic is non-trivial: negative results warrant secure constraints on the space of possibilities for the target, whereas significant positive results remain ambivalent.
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary of Terms Absorption Line a Dark Line at a Particular Wavelength Superimposed Upon a Bright, Continuous Spectrum
    Glossary of terms absorption line A dark line at a particular wavelength superimposed upon a bright, continuous spectrum. Such a spectral line can be formed when electromag- netic radiation, while travelling on its way to an observer, meets a substance; if that substance can absorb energy at that particular wavelength then the observer sees an absorption line. Compare with emission line. accretion disk A disk of gas or dust orbiting a massive object such as a star, a stellar-mass black hole or an active galactic nucleus. An accretion disk plays an important role in the formation of a planetary system around a young star. An accretion disk around a supermassive black hole is thought to be the key mecha- nism powering an active galactic nucleus. active galactic nucleus (agn) A compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits vast amounts of electromagnetic radiation and fast-moving jets of particles; an agn can outshine the rest of the galaxy despite being hardly larger in volume than the Solar System. Various classes of agn exist, including quasars and Seyfert galaxies, but in each case the energy is believed to be generated as matter accretes onto a supermassive black hole. adaptive optics A technique used by large ground-based optical telescopes to remove the blurring affects caused by Earth’s atmosphere. Light from a guide star is used as a calibration source; a complicated system of software and hardware then deforms a small mirror to correct for atmospheric distortions. The mirror shape changes more quickly than the atmosphere itself fluctuates.
    [Show full text]