Prof Thanu Padmanabhan (Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune , India)

Cosmological constant - the weight of the vacuum - Prof T. Padmanabhan Colloquium

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

There is sufficient observational evidence to suggest that the bulk of the matter in the universe is exotic, in the sense that it exerts negative pressure. After reviewing briefly the evidence for this rather bizare situation, the talk will focus on the theoretical issues connected with modelling this ``dark energy", as it is called. It seems likely that we need a drastic revision of our conventional paradigms to understand this phenomenon.