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UCT RESEARCH REPORT 2012
T
he significant results of the Planck satellite, released in early 2013 by the
European Space Agency, revealed the most precise map of the ancient universe
ever made. Scientists believe these results are matched only by the groundbreaking
discovery of the first fundamental scalar particle at CERN during 2012. The map
has already led to new theories of the age, composition and future of the universe.
The coming decades thus promise a great synergy between particle physics and
cosmology as the international community at large grapples with some of the
greatest unsolved problems of our time. These questions cannot be tackled by one
discipline alone, and the move to interdisciplinarity is a global phenomenon. At UCT
it has swept together key research groups who work together towards answering
only the biggest questions about space and time. The synergies amongst these
groups are generating a vibrant and interactive research culture.
At the heart of this research is the UCT-accredited Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity
Centre (ACGC). The ACGC has 20 academic members from the faculty, and includes a
DST/NRF SKA Chair held by Professor Claude Carignan and a DST/NRF SARChI Chair
held by Professor Thomas Jarrett. The Centre is also particularly strong in its development
of young scientists, with more than 20 postdoctoral research fellows and over 30 graduate
students at any given time.
Cosmology at UCT Tackling the
Mysteries Of The Universe
We live in a unique time in the history of science. Cosmological
observations are able to pinpoint with great precision details
of the universe on the largest scales, while particle physics
experiments probe the nature of matter on the very smallest
scales with equally astounding precision. Research in cosmology
lives at exactly the dual point – developing the theory from a
fundamental mathematical framework and testing it in a plethora
of experiments and observations requiring sophisticated
statistical knowledge. This is at the heart of the research
undertaken by the different cosmology-related research groups
at the University of Cape Town, which is striving to gain an
understanding of our universe that to previous generations
would have seemed perhaps unknowable.