Cosmic genesis Physical Laws Drive the

Formation of Structure in the Universe

Fred C. AdamsPhysics Department, University of

Michigan

SATURDAY MORNING PHYSICS

How did we get here?

Four Forces of Nature

Gravity

Electromagnetism

Strong

Weak

Classical (19th century) Physics

Quantum Mechanics RelativityChaos

Our Universe

Cosmic Timeline

(uchicago.edu)

GSWE

The Inflationary Universe

Time in seconds (G vs G)

(Guth/Wudka)

Matter > Antimatter

S vs G

(members.aol.com)

time t < 1 second:Dark Matter Freezes Out

Dark matter abundance freezes before the universe is 1 second old

W vs G

The synthesis of light elements begins when the universe is one second old

S vs E vs G(physics.uoregon.edu)

Helium

Deuterium

Lithium

(Schramm)

frequency

Inte

nsi

ty

COBE Blackbody T = 2.723 Kelvin

E

WMAP: Cosmic Background

Radiation

E vs G

The VIRGO consortium G

Andromeda: Our sister galaxy

Cosmological Parameters

baryons4%

dark energy69%

dark matter27%

cmb0%

Fates of the Universe

Fates of the Universe

Accelerating

G

IslandUniverse

14 Gyr

54 Gyr

92 GyrBusha, Adams, Evrard, and Wechsler 2003

Every galaxy has a supermassive black hole anchoring its centerMbh = millions to billions of Suns

Gravity wins!

G(astro.cf.ac.uk)

Every galaxy produces about one million stellar mass black holes

(Gravity wins again)

G(life-enhancement.com)

EM radiation

Stars are still forming today

The Eagle Nebula

(Hester et al.)

Orion

The Stages of Star Formation

Gravity vs Pressure

AB

C

(Faulkes)Spectral Class

Lu

min

osi

ty

The fifty (50)nearest stars

Our Sun is the fourth largest!

The Periodic Table of Elements

S,W(aether.lbl.edu)

S,W vs E

Late Nuclear Burning Stages of a Massive Star - just before IGNITION

G,E,S,W(Faulkes)

Distribution of Stellar MassesStars that explode

Stars that become white dwarfs

Brown dwarfs

Galaxy continues to make new stars.Time scales are lengthened by: - Recycling- Infall onto disk- Reduced SF rate

Star formation continues until the galaxy runs out of gas (trillions of years from now)

The smallest, longest lived starslast for tens of trillions of years

Star formation continues until the galaxy runs out of gas (trillions of years from now)

The smallest, longest lived starslast for tens of trillions of years

Our universe is young:Only one tenth of one percentof the Stelliferous Era has taken place so far!

Extrasolar Planets!

California planet search

California planet search

Planets form out of circumstellar disks

G. Bryden

G,E

Comets can carry water to newborn terrestrial planets

But most water for Earth probably came from hydrogenated rocks

Galilean Satellites:

Ganymede Callisto Io Europa

Icy worlds are easy to make

E

Our universe seems to have just the right version of the laws of physics

so that LIFE CAN EMERGE

Our universe seems to have just the right version of the laws of physics

so that LIFE CAN EMERGE

WHY?

GSWE

G’S’W’E’

Here and Now

For further reading:

• Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the physics of eternity, Fred Adams & Greg Laughlin, 1999

• Origins of Existence: How life emerged in the universe, Fred Adams, 2002

Hawking Radiation

Black hole

Virtual particles

€

λ ≈GM ≈ Rs

€

TH =1/(8πGM)

€

τ =1065 years M /Mo[ ]3

Earth swallowed by the Sun

Red Dwarf saves Earth

sun

red dwarf

earth

moon

Red dwarf captures the Earth

Sun exits with one red dwarf as a binary companion

Earth exits with the other red dwarfSun and Earth encounter

binary pair of red dwarfs

9000 year interaction

Primordial Era

• The Big Bang• Inflation• Matter > Antimatter• Quarks -> protons, neutrons• Nuclear synthesis of the light

elements • Cosmic Microwave Background• Universe continues to expand

Four Stages of Star Formation:G vs P