title: Measuring spacetime: from the big bang to black holes.
abstract: Space is not a boring static stage on which events unfold over time, but a dynamic entity with curvature, fluctuations, and a rich life of its own. Spectacular measurements of the cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, type Ia supernovae, large-scale structure, spectra of the Lyman alpha forest, stellar dynamics, and x-ray binaries are probing the properties of spacetime over 22 orders of magnitude in scale. Current measurements are consistent with an infinite flat everlasting universe containing about 30% cold dark matter, 65% dark energy, and at least two distinct populations of black holes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. max@physics.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tegmark