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Unsolved problems in cosmology
The science of cosmology has been very successful in explaining a wide range of observational evidence about the Universe, from the detailed properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation to the distributions of galaxies, and the elemental abundances in astrophysical environments. However, there are several major unknowns in cosmological theory, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. These gaps in knowledge are frustrating for anyone who would like to understand the nature of the Universe. In this free course, Unsolved problems in cosmology, you will learn about what the current unsolved problems are and about the possible ways in which they may be solved in the future.
This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course S385 Cosmology and the distant Universe.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- understand the basis of modern cosmology based on the hot big bang
- summarise the main candidate dark matter particles, and the prospects for directly detecting them
- compare models to explain the late-time acceleration of the Universe's expansion, i.e. dark energy and the cosmological constant
- discuss observational prospects for understanding the nature of dark energy
- explain the theoretical problems that led to the theory of inflation, how an early inflationary period solves them and how researchers are investigating inflation.
First Published: 06/11/2024
Updated: 06/11/2024
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