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List of cosmologists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of people who have made noteworthy contributions to cosmology (the study of the history and large-scale structure of the universe) and their cosmological achievements.

Part of a series on
Physical cosmology
Full-sky image derived from nine years' WMAP data
Early universe
Backgrounds
Expansion · Future
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Components
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Scientists
Subject history

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M

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  • João Magueijo (1967–) proposed much faster speeds of light in the young universe as an alternative explanation to cosmic inflation for its homogeneity
  • Richard Massey (1977–) mapped dark matter in the universe
  • Charles W. Misner (1932–2023) studied solutions to general relativity including the mixmaster universe and Misner space, wrote influential text on gravitation
  • John Moffat (1932–) proposed much faster speeds of light in the young universe, developed antisymmetric theories of gravity
  • Lauro Moscardini (1961–) modeled galaxy clustering in the early universe

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  • György Paál (1934–1992) in the late 1950s studied the quasar and galaxy cluster distributions, in 1970 from redshift quantization came up with the idea that the Universe might have nontrivial topological structure
  • Thanu Padmanabhan (1957–2021) studied quantum gravity and quantum cosmology
  • Leonard Parker (1938–) established the study of quantum field theory within general relativity
  • P. James E. Peebles (1935–) predicted cosmic background radiation, contributed to structure theory, developed models that avoid dark matter
  • Roger Penrose (1931–) linked singularities to gravitational collapse, conjectured the nonexistence of naked singularities, and used gravitational entropy to explain homogeneity
  • Arno Penzias (1933–2024) was the first to observe the cosmic background radiation
  • Saul Perlmutter (1959–) used supernova observations to measure the expansion of the universe
  • Mark M. Phillips (1951–) used supernova observations to discover acceleration in the expansion of the universe, calibrated the supernova distance scale
  • Joel Primack (1945–) co-invented the theory of cold dark matter
  • Ptolemy (90–168) wrote the only surviving ancient text on astronomy, conjectured a model of the universe as a set of nested spheres with epicycles

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  • Ali Qushji (1403–1474) challenged Aristotelian physics, in particular presenting empirical evidence against a stationary Earth, and may have influenced Copernicus

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  • Lisa Randall (1962–) contributed to Randall–Sundrum models, which describe the world in terms of a warped geometry higher-dimensional universe
  • Martin Rees (1942–) proposed that quasars are powered by black holes, disproved steady state by studying distribution of quasars
  • Yoel Rephaeli used the distortion of the cosmic background by high-energy electrons to infer the existence of galaxy clusters
  • Adam Riess (1969–) found evidence in supernova data that the expansion of the universe is accelerating and confirming dark energy models
  • Wolfgang Rindler (1924–2019) coined the phrase "event horizon", Rindler coordinates, and popularized the use of spinors (with Roger Penrose)
  • Howard P. Robertson (1903–1961) solved the two-body problem in an approximation to general relativity, developed the standard model of general relativity
  • Vera Rubin (1928–2016) discovered discrepancies in galactic rotation rates leading to the theory of dark matter

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  • Rainer K. Sachs (1932–2024) discovered gravitationally induced redshifts in the cosmic background radiation
  • Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist and author
  • Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989) invented the theory of twins, CPT-symmetric universes
  • Allan Sandage (1936–2010) set the cosmological distance scale and accurately estimated the speed of expansion of the universe
  • Brian P. Schmidt (1967–) used supernova data to measure the acceleration in the expansion of the universe
  • David N. Schramm (1945–1997) was an expert on big bang theory and an early proponent of dark matter
  • Dennis W. Sciama (1926–1999) studied many aspects of cosmology and supervised many other leading cosmologists
  • Irving Segal (1918–1998) created chronometric cosmology with alternative explanation of redshift in spectra of distant sources
  • Seleucus of Seleucia (c.190–c.150 BC) used tidal observations to support a heliocentric model
  • Roman Ulrich Sexl (1939–1986) developed an ether-based theory of absolute simultaneity that is mathematically equivalent to special relativity
  • Al-Sijzi (c. 945–1020) invented an astrolabe based on the Earth's rotation
  • Joseph Silk (1942–) explained the homogeneity of the early universe using photon diffusion damping
  • Willem de Sitter (1872–1934) developed a theory of dark matter with Einstein, found an expanding matterless solution to general relativity
  • Vesto Slipher (1875–1969) performed the first measurements of radial velocities for galaxies, providing the empirical basis for the expansion of the universe
  • Lee Smolin (1955–) studied quantum gravity, popularized a theory of cosmological natural selection
  • George F. Smoot (1945–) used Cosmic Background Explorer satellite to measure the temperature and anisotropy of the early universe
  • David N. Spergel (1961–) used Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite to measure the temperature and anisotropy of the early universe
  • Paul Steinhardt (1952–) pioneered inflationary cosmology, introduced first example of eternal inflation, introduced quintessential dark energy, introduced the concept of strongly self-interacting dark matter, studied brane cosmology and cyclic models of the universe
  • Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (903–986) wrote the Book of Fixed Stars, which lists over forty constellations and the stars within them
  • Nicholas B. Suntzeff (1952–) used supernova observations to discover acceleration in the expansion of the universe, calibrated the supernova distance scale
  • Rashid Sunyaev (1943–) developed a theory of density fluctuations in the early universe, described how to use cosmic background distortion to observe large-scale density fluctuations
  • Alex Szalay (1949–) was working on structure formation in a neutrino-dominated universe, biased galaxy formation in a cold dark matter dominated universe and computing the power spectrum in hot, cold and warm dark matter dominated universes

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  • Max Tegmark (1967–) determined the parameters of the lambda-cold dark matter model using Sloan Survey data, studied mathematical models of multiverses
  • Trinh Xuan Thuan (1948–) researched galaxy formation and evolution
  • William G. Tifft theorized that galactic redshifts are quantized
  • Beatrice Tinsley (1941–1981) researched galactic evolution, the creation of lightweight elements, and accelerated expansion of the universe
  • Frank J. Tipler (1947–) proved that time travel requires singularities, promoted the anthropic principle
  • Richard C. Tolman (1881–1948) showed that the cosmic background keeps a black-body profile as the universe expands
  • Mark Trodden (1968–) studied cosmological implications of topological defects in field theories
  • Michael S. Turner (1949–) coined the term dark energy
  • Neil Turok (1958–) predicted correlations between polarization and temperature anisotropy in the cosmic background, explained the big bang as a brane collision
  • Henry Tye (1947–) proposed brane-antibrane interactions as a cause of cosmic inflation

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  • Alexander Vilenkin (1949–) showed that eternal inflation is generic, studied cosmic strings, theorized the creation of the universe from quantum fluctuations

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  • Robert M. Wald (1947–) wrote a popular textbook on general relativity, studied the thermodynamics of black holes and created an axiomatic formulation of quantum field theory in curved spacetime
  • Arthur Geoffrey Walker (1909–2001) developed the standard model of general relativity and studied the mathematics of relativistic reference frames
  • David Wands studied inflation, superstrings, and density perturbations in the early universe
  • Yun Wang (1964–) uses supernova and galactic redshift data to probe dark energy
  • Jeffrey Weeks (1956–) used cosmic background patterns to determine the topology of the universe
  • Simon D. White (1951–) studied galaxy formation in the lambda-cold dark matter model
  • David Todd Wilkinson (1935–2002) used satellite probes to measure the cosmic background radiation
  • Edward L. Wright (1947–) promoted big bang theories, studied the effect of dust absorption on measurements of the cosmic background radiation

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See also

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