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2011 Physics Nobel Prize Resources
» Overview One half of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California; the other half jointly to Brian P. Schmidt of the Australian National University in Weston Creek, Australia and to Adam G. Riess of Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae." The results of the prize-winning research — that the expansion of the universe itself is accelerating, surprised many scientists given that astronomers previously believed that the expansion of the universe would slow down and eventually reverse, leading to a so-called "Big Crunch" — a violent end in which the universe would collapse into a singularity. The researchers used measurements of a particular type of supernova, called Type Ia, to measure the expansion rate of the universe over time. Both Perlmutter's group and Schmidt & Riess's group independently produced data that were nearly identical. Taken together, these results provide compelling evidence that our ideas about the way the universe works are valid. AIP's Charles Blue talks about the science behind the Prize Quote from Dr. H. Frederick Dylla, Executive Director and CEO "It's really a fitting prize. This year's Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes a startling new revelation in our understanding of the cosmos. Based on measurements from the last 15 years, we now know that the expansion of our universe is not slowing, as was believed since the Big Bang theory first emerged, but that its expansion is actually accelerating. This acceleration has been the dominant force in the cosmos since our universe was about half its current age. This discovery also provides additional insights into Einstein's theory of general relativity, a cornerstone of physics and our understanding of the universe. So this discovery not only helps us understand the evolution of the universe, but it also gives us new insights into how it may end. It shows science at its best, where a startling discovery was made and confirmed by two independent teams." Access AIP Journal, Proceedings, and Magazine Articles by Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, and Adam G. Riess — Recipients of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics Discover every article that AIP has published from these Nobel Laureates. The Nearby Supernova Factory dataset-improving SNe Ia as dark energy probes Seeing Dark Energy Cepheid Variables in the Antennae The SH0ES Project: Observations of Cepheids in NGC 4258 and Type Ia SN Hosts Seeing Dark Energy 10 Years Later The Supernova Type Ia Rate Evolution with SNLS The Peculiar Type Ia Supernova 2005hk Type Ia supernova diversity: Standardizing the candles Kinematics and Dark Energy from Supernovae at z > 1 Towards Measuring the Cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst Rate Rapid Identification of Optical Afterglows: Bright Prospects Supernovae, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Universe Supernovae, dark energy, and the accelerating universe: What next? Evidence from Type Ia supernovae for an accelerating universe A high peculiarity rate for Type Ia SNe Cosmological parameters from supernovae: Two groups' results agree A one-meter aperture wide-field camera for the Japanese exposure module on space station A search for gamma-ray burst optical emission with the automated patrol telescope Automated search for supernova explosions Key journal articles from the AIP Member Societies The American Astronomical Society's The Astronomical Journal The American Astronomical Society's The Astrophysical Journal |
