Neta Bahcall, Adam Burrows
Published in PNAS, 117, 2, 799 – 801 (January 2020)
Mankind has long been fascinated by the mysteries of our Universe: How old and how big is the
Universe? How did the Universe begin and how is it evolving? What is the composition of the
Universe and the nature of its dark-matter and dark-energy? What is our Earth’s place in the cosmos
and are there other planets (and life) around other stars?
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics honors three pioneering scientists for their fundamental contributions to basic cosmic questions – Professor James Peebles (Princeton University), Michel Mayor (University of Geneva), and Didier Queloz (University of Geneva and the University of Cambridge) – “for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos,” with one half to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology,” and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.” We summarize the historical and scientific backdrop to this year’s Physics Nobel.
Read more at https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2001/2001.08511.pdf
