Department of Mathematics,
University of California San Diego
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Math 258 - Differential Geometry
Jim Isenberg
UCSD Visitor from University of Oregon
The Nature of Singularities in Cosmological Solutions of Einstein's Equations
Abstract:
The Hawking- Penrose singularity theorems tell us that cosmological solutions of Einstein's equations generically contain a singularity. But these theorems tell us little about what happens near such a singularity. Do the gravitational fields necessarily grow without bound? Can causality break down? What about the Cosmic Censor? Work done during the past ten years--both analytical and numerical--has gotten us a lot closer to answers to these questions. We survey this work, discussing both the mathematical ideas and the physical implications. We also discuss the likely direction of future studies.
Host: Ben Chow
January 22, 2003
1:00 PM
AP&M 7218
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