Ruth Durrer

Last updated
Ruth Durrer
Born1958 (age 66–67)
Kerns
Alma mater University of Zürich
Scientific career
Fields Astroparticle physics
Institutions University of Zürich
University of Geneva
University of Cambridge
Princeton University
Thesis Gauge-Invariant Cosmological Perturbation Theory  (1988)
Doctoral advisor Norbert Straumann

Ruth Durrer (born 1958) is a professor of Cosmology at the University of Geneva. She works on the cosmic microwave background, brane cosmology and massive gravity.

Contents

Early life and education

Durrer was born in Kerns. [1] She earned her high school diploma at Kantonales Lehrerseminar, and studied at the University of Zürich. [1] She completed her PhD on perturbation theory with Norbert Straumann at the University of Zürich in 1988. [2] [3] She was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge for a year, before joining Princeton University in 1989. [4] Durrer returned to Zürich in 1991, completing a postdoctoral fellowship. [2]

Research and career

Durrer was made an assistant professor at the University of Zürich in 1992, and full professor at the University of Geneva in 1995. [2] [5] She is a member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. [6] She works on the cosmic microwave background and massive gravity. [7] [8] [9] Massive gravity describes an expanding universe with massive gravitons, which weakens gravity on large scales. [10] Durrer uses cosmological observations as a test for general relativity. [11]

Durrer has contributed extensively to the theoretical understanding of topological defects. She showed that cosmic textures can suppress the acoustic peaks of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background. [12] This results confirm that cosmic textures are not responsible for the distribution of matter in the observed universe. She worked with Neil Turok to demonstrate it is possible to use terrestrial lab-based experiments to test cosmological phase transitions in the early universe. [13] These include using liquid crystals to study the scaling solutions of string networks. [13] She has also demonstrated that density fluctuations in the early universe can result in the cosmological magnetic fields. [14] [15] [16] She showed that the scaling properties of these primordial magnetic fields can be determined by causality arguments alone. [17]

Durrer studied an extended area of space, separating it into 60 billion zones and using the c++ library LATfield2 with a supercomputer to study the movement of individual particles. [18] She used Einstein's equations to calculate the distance in metric space, comparing this with the prediction of Newton's methods. [18] She has investigated dark energy. [19]

Durrer was elected to Academia Net by the Swiss National Science Foundation in 2012. [1] She is a member of the committee of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics International Society on General Relative and Gravitation. [20] She has held visiting academic positions at University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, University of Paris-Sud and Galileo Galilei Institute. [1]

Books

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include;

Personal life

Durrer is married with three children. [1] She speaks German, English, French, and Swiss German. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bang</span> Physical theory

The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. The notion of an expanding universe was first scientifically originated by physicist Alexander Friedmann in 1922 with the mathematical derivation of the Friedmann equations. The earliest empirical observation of the notion of an expanding universe is known as Hubble's law, published in work by physicist Edwin Hubble in 1929, which discerned that galaxies are moving away from Earth at a rate that accelerates proportionally with distance. Independent of Friedmann's work, and independent of Hubble's observations, physicist Georges Lemaître proposed that the universe emerged from a "primeval atom" in 1931, introducing the modern notion of the Big Bang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical cosmology</span> Branch of cosmology which studies mathematical models of the universe

Physical cosmology is a branch of cosmology concerned with the study of cosmological models. A cosmological model, or simply cosmology, provides a description of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and allows study of fundamental questions about its origin, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate. Cosmology as a science originated with the Copernican principle, which implies that celestial bodies obey identical physical laws to those on Earth, and Newtonian mechanics, which first allowed those physical laws to be understood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic inflation</span> Theory of rapid universe expansion

In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation, or just inflation, is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the very early universe. Following the inflationary period, the universe continued to expand, but at a slower rate. The re-acceleration of this slowing expansion due to dark energy began after the universe was already over 7.7 billion years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic microwave background</span> Trace radiation from the early universe

The cosmic microwave background, or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dark. However, a sufficiently sensitive radio telescope detects a faint background glow that is almost uniform and is not associated with any star, galaxy, or other object. This glow is strongest in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1965 by American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson was the culmination of work initiated in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General relativity</span> Theory of gravitation as curved spacetime

General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the curvature of spacetime is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever present matter and radiation. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second-order partial differential equations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quantum gravity</span> Description of gravity using discrete values

Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics. It deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the vicinity of black holes or similar compact astrophysical objects, as well as in the early stages of the universe moments after the Big Bang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accelerating expansion of the universe</span> Cosmological phenomenon

Observations show that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, such that the velocity at which a distant galaxy recedes from the observer is continuously increasing with time. The accelerated expansion of the universe was discovered in 1998 by two independent projects, the Supernova Cosmology Project and the High-Z Supernova Search Team, which used distant type Ia supernovae to measure the acceleration. The idea was that as type Ia supernovae have almost the same intrinsic brightness, and since objects that are further away appear dimmer, the observed brightness of these supernovae can be used to measure the distance to them. The distance can then be compared to the supernovae's cosmological redshift, which measures how much the universe has expanded since the supernova occurred; the Hubble law established that the further away an object is, the faster it is receding. The unexpected result was that objects in the universe are moving away from one another at an accelerating rate. Cosmologists at the time expected that recession velocity would always be decelerating, due to the gravitational attraction of the matter in the universe. Three members of these two groups have subsequently been awarded Nobel Prizes for their discovery. Confirmatory evidence has been found in baryon acoustic oscillations, and in analyses of the clustering of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravitational singularity</span> Condition in which spacetime itself breaks down

A gravitational singularity, spacetime singularity, or simply singularity, is a theoretical condition in which gravity is predicted to be so intense that spacetime itself would break down catastrophically. As such, a singularity is by definition no longer part of the regular spacetime and cannot be determined by "where" or "when". Gravitational singularities exist at a junction between general relativity and quantum mechanics; therefore, the properties of the singularity cannot be described without an established theory of quantum gravity. Trying to find a complete and precise definition of singularities in the theory of general relativity, the current best theory of gravity, remains a difficult problem. A singularity in general relativity can be defined by the scalar invariant curvature becoming infinite or, better, by a geodesic being incomplete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plasma cosmology</span> Non-standard model of the universe; emphasizes the role of ionized gases

Plasma cosmology is a non-standard cosmology whose central postulate is that the dynamics of ionized gases and plasmas play important, if not dominant, roles in the physics of the universe at interstellar and intergalactic scales. In contrast, the current observations and models of cosmologists and astrophysicists explain the formation, development, and evolution of large-scale structures as dominated by gravity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bounce</span> Model for the origin of the universe

The Big Bounce hypothesis is a cosmological model for the origin of the known universe. It was originally suggested as a phase of the cyclic model or oscillatory universe interpretation of the Big Bang, where the first cosmological event was the result of the collapse of a previous universe. It receded from serious consideration in the early 1980s after inflation theory emerged as a solution to the horizon problem, which had arisen from advances in observations revealing the large-scale structure of the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert H. Dicke</span> American astronomer and physicist (1916–1997)

Robert Henry Dicke was an American astronomer and physicist who made important contributions to the fields of astrophysics, atomic physics, cosmology and gravity. He was the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University (1975–1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanu Padmanabhan</span> Indian physicist and cosmologist (1957–2021)

Thanu Padmanabhan was an Indian theoretical physicist and cosmologist whose research spanned a wide variety of topics in gravitation, structure formation in the universe and quantum gravity. He published nearly 300 papers and reviews in international journals and ten books in these areas. He made several contributions related to the analysis and modelling of dark energy in the universe and the interpretation of gravity as an emergent phenomenon. He was a Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) at Pune, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diffusion damping</span> Physical process in cosmology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark energy</span> Energy driving the accelerated expansion of the universe

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The Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity is a Machian and conformal theory of gravity proposed by Fred Hoyle and Jayant Narlikar that originally fits into the quasi steady state model of the universe.

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Lucas Lombriser is a Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at the Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Geneva. His research is in Theoretical Cosmology, Dark Energy, and Alternative Theories of Gravity. In 2020 and 2021 Lombriser proposed that the Hubble tension and other discrepancies between cosmological measurements imply significant evidence that we are living in a Hubble Bubble of 250 million light years in diameter which is 20% less dense than the cosmic average and lowers the locally measured cosmic microwave background temperature over its cosmic average. Previously, in 2019, he has proposed a solution to the cosmological constant problem from arguing that Newton's constant varies globally. In 2015 and 2016, Lombriser predicted the measurement of the gravitational wave speed with a neutron star merger and that this would rule out alternative theories of gravity as the cause of the late-time accelerated expansion of our Universe, a prediction that proved true with GW170817. Lombriser is a member of the Romansh-speaking minority in Switzerland.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Prof. Ruth Durrer - AcademiaNet". www.academia-net.org. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ruth Durrer | Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics - University of Geneva". cosmology.unige.ch. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  3. ↑ "Ruth Durrer - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.ams.org. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  4. 1 2 "Ruth Durrer". Institute for Advanced Study. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  5. ↑ "Ruth's Homepage". fiteoweb.unige.ch. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  6. ↑ "Ruth Durrer | Perimeter Institute". perimeterinstitute.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  7. ↑ Durrer, Ruth. (2008). The cosmic microwave background. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780511424069. OCLC   297170401.
  8. ↑ "Ruth Durrer | SwissMAP". www.nccr-swissmap.ch. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Cosmology and the cosmic microwave background | Cours de physique théorique". courses.ipht.cnrs.fr. Institut de physique théorique - IPhT Saclay . Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  10. ↑ "Ruth Durrer". www.colloquium.phys.ethz.ch. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  11. ↑ "Testing General Relativity with Cosmological observations - Ruth Durrer". Media Hopper Create - The University of Edinburgh Media Platform. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  12. ↑ Durrer, Ruth; Gangui, Alejandro; Sakellariadou, Mairi (1996-01-22). "Doppler Peaks in the Angular Power Spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background: A Fingerprint of Topological Defects". Physical Review Letters. 76 (4): 579–582. arXiv: astro-ph/9507035 . Bibcode:1996PhRvL..76..579D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.579. PMID   10061495. S2CID   16031907.
  13. 1 2 Yurke, Bernard; Turok, Neil; Durrer, Ruth; Chuang, Isaac (1991-03-15). "Cosmology in the Laboratory: Defect Dynamics in Liquid Crystals". Science. 251 (4999): 1336–1342. Bibcode:1991Sci...251.1336C. doi:10.1126/science.251.4999.1336. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   17816188. S2CID   33894124.
  14. ↑ Durrer, Ruth (2006-02-10). "Is the Mystery of Cosmic Magnetic Fields Solved?". Science. 311 (5762): 787–788. doi:10.1126/science.1122395. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   16469908. S2CID   1522770.
  15. ↑ "North of the Big Bang". www.newscientist.com. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  16. ↑ "Members in the Media". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  17. ↑ Durrer, Ruth; Caprini, Chiara (2003-11-19). "Primordial magnetic fields and causality". Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. 2003 (11): 010. arXiv: astro-ph/0305059 . Bibcode:2003JCAP...11..010D. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2003/11/010. ISSN   1475-7516. S2CID   53768021.
  18. 1 2 "Spacetime and Gravitational Waves Yield a New View of the Universe". The Daily Galaxy. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  19. ↑ Durrer Ruth (2011-12-28). "What do we really know about dark energy?". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 369 (1957): 5102–5114. arXiv: 1103.5331 . Bibcode:2011RSPTA.369.5102D. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2011.0285 . PMID   22084297.
  20. ↑ "AC2: Members | IUPAP: The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics". iupap.org. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  21. ↑ Reviews of The Cosmic Microwave Background:
  22. ↑ "Prix Jules Janssen". Société astronomique de France.
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