TY - JOUR
T1 - The cosmic triangle
T2 - Revealing the state of the universe
AU - Bahcall, Neta A.
AU - Ostriker, Jeremiah P.
AU - Perlmutter, Saul
AU - Steinhardt, Paul J.
PY - 1999/5/28
Y1 - 1999/5/28
N2 - The cosmic triangle is introduced as a way of representing the past, present, and future status of the universe. Our current location within the cosmic triangle is determined by the answers to three questions: How much matter is in the universe? Is the expansion rate slowing down or speeding up? And, is the universe flat? A review of recent observations suggests a universe that is lightweight (matter density about one-third the critical value), is accelerating, and is flat. The acceleration implies the existence of cosmic dark energy that overcomes the gravitational self-attraction of matter and causes the expansion to speed up.
AB - The cosmic triangle is introduced as a way of representing the past, present, and future status of the universe. Our current location within the cosmic triangle is determined by the answers to three questions: How much matter is in the universe? Is the expansion rate slowing down or speeding up? And, is the universe flat? A review of recent observations suggests a universe that is lightweight (matter density about one-third the critical value), is accelerating, and is flat. The acceleration implies the existence of cosmic dark energy that overcomes the gravitational self-attraction of matter and causes the expansion to speed up.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.284.5419.1481
DO - 10.1126/science.284.5419.1481
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:0033612140
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 284
SP - 1481
EP - 1488
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5419
ER -