Conversations About Astrophysics & Cosmology

This collection includes the following 5 complete books featuring renowned physicists Roger Penrose (Nobel Laureate), Paul Steinhardt, Scott Tremaine, Justin Khoury, and Rocky Kolb providing fully accessible insights into cutting-edge academic research while revealing the inspirations and personal journeys behind the research. A detailed preface highlights the connections between the different books and all five books are broken into chapters with a detailed introduction and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:

I. Cosmological Conundrums - A conversation with Justin Khoury, Professor of Physics, University of Pennsylvania. Topics covered include: the early universe, the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, Cosmic Microwave Background, and the MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) theory.

II. Astrophysical Wonders - A conversation with Scott Tremaine, Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics, IAS. Topics covered include: the process of scientific discovery, in particular related to comets, Pluto, planetary rings, shepherding satellites, exoplanets, chaos theory and the formation, stability and uniqueness of our solar system, galactic-scale astronomy, galaxy formation, dark matter, quasars, and black holes.

III. A Universe Of Particles: Cosmological Reflections - A conversation with Rocky Kolb, the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago. Topics covered include: Kolb's work on inflationary cosmology, the Standard Model of particle physics, dark matter, dark energy, MOND, the LHC, advice for high-school teachers to ignite a passion for learning in students.

IV. Inflated Expectations: A Cosmological Tale - A conversation with Paul Steinhardt, the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Director of the Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University. Paul Steinhardt is one of the originators of the theory of cosmic inflation and has become one of its fiercest critics. Further topics include: his development and later scepticism of the theory of cosmic inflation, the response of the scientific community to the failure of this theory, his theory of cosmology, The Ekpyrotic Universe, and more.

V. The Cyclic Universe - A conversation with Roger Penrose, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford. Penrose is convinced that there is one fundamental problem that is consistently being overlooked: why did our universe begin in such a particular state of extremely low entropy? This comprehensive conversation provides a detailed exploration of Penrose's groundbreaking theory, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC), accompanied by a wide range of explanatory drawings by Penrose.

Howard Burton is the host and editor of all Ideas Roadshow conversations and was the Founding Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics and an MA in philosophy.