Duke Physics Colloquium: Initial Conditions of the Universe

"Initial Conditions of the Universe" - I will describe my proposal for the wavefunction of the universe on the landscape multiverse which led to a theory of the selection of the initial conditions of the universe and a series of testable predictions. The series of anomalies derived from this theory before observations were available, such as: the Cold Spot; the low multipole alignment; the temperature low multipole suppression, the power asymmetry and, the preferred direction in the CMB, were first seen by WMAP and confirmed by Planck 2013. I will discuss the implications and the status of the theory in the light of Planck 2015 data. The only remaining test is the prediction of a dark flow. Faculty Host: Mark Kruse. Coffee and cookies will be served before the event in Physics room 130.