The Wraparound Universe

What shape is the universe? Is it curved and closed in on itself? Is it expanding? Where is it headed? Could space be wrapped around itself, such that it produces ghost images of faraway galaxies? Such are the questions posed by Jean-Pierre Luminet in The Wraparound Universe , which he then addresses in clear and accessible language. An expert in black holes and the big bang, he leads us on a voyage through the surprising byways of space-time, where possible topologies of the universe, explorations of the infinite, and cosmic mirages combine their mysterious traits and unlock the imagination. The Wraparound Universe is a general-audience book about the overall topology or shape of the universe. The central question addressed is whether it is possible that the universe is wrapped around in an interesting way, and what impact this would have on astronomical observations and our understanding of cosmology. Along the way many of the general features and much of the history of the modern picture of cosmology are discussed.

Jean-Pierre Luminet is a world-known astrophysicist at the Meudon Observatory in France and a leading expert on black holes, cosmology, and the new field of cosmic topology. He was awarded the 2006 Great Prize of the French Academy of Sciences for Science Communication, and the 1999 International Georges Lemaitre Prize for his original contributions to cosmology and astrophysics.He has published several dozen articles in refereed journals such as Nature, Astrophysical Journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and many others. In addition to his research work he has published three acclaimed novels and several poetry books.

Reading Guide
The Shape of Space	p. 1
The Universal Mollusk	p. 3
The Size of Space	p. 7
The Hall of Mirrors	p. 10
The Four Scales of Geometry	p. 12
Absolute or Relative Space?	p. 17
Celestial Mirages	p. 25
Black Hole	p. 29
Foam, Strings, and Loops	p. 34
From Relativity to the Big Bang	p. 38
What is the Curvature of the Universe?	p. 47
Open or Closed?	p. 53
The Knowledge of Places	p. 57
From the Cylinder to the Pretzel	p. 62
Fascinating Shapes	p. 73
Topology and Relativity	p. 82
Small, Strange Universes	p. 86
Topological Mirage	p. 94
Hunting for Ghosts	p. 99
Midnight Suns	p. 102
Cosmic Crystallography	p. 105
Circles in the Sky	p. 116
Inflation, the Infinite, and the Folds	p. 129
Maya	p. 136
Folds in the Universe	p. 141
A Brief History of Space	p. 143
The Edge Paradox	p. 154
The Dark Night Paradox	p. 156
Non-Euclidean Geometries	p. 161
Cosmos and Logos	p. 169
Cosmic Questions	p. 173
Expansion and the Infinite	p. 176
Galaxies in Flight	p. 179
The Rate of Expansion	p. 184
The Age of the Universe	p. 188
Astronomical Distances	p. 192
Cosmic Mathematics	p. 195
Cosmic Repulsion	p. 207
Dark Matter	p. 217
The Cosmic Microwave Background	p. 231
Is the Universe Flat?	p. 245
Symmetry	p. 250
Polyhedra	p. 259
The Classification of Surfaces	p. 264
The Classification of Three-Dimensional Spaces	p. 272
Topos and Cosmos	p. 280
Afterword: Listening to the Cosmic Drum	p. 289
Bibliography	p. 309
Index of Names	p. 311
Subject Index	p. 314
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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The Wraparound Universe

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials