Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang [Hardcover]

'A challenging alternative to the accepted picture of the big bang and the future of the universe.' (Stephen Hawking )

'Two brilliant theorists offer a true-to-life account of their quest to solve one of the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.' (Sir Martin Rees )

'Perhaps you don't believe in strings, or extra spatial dimensions, or D-branes, or that the universe's accelerated expansion may someday reverse. But I urge you to suspend such views and read Steinhardt and Turok's dramatic and very readable account of their cyclic model of the universe. It may be closer to the truth than you think!' (Roger Penrose )

'Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok, two architects of modern cosmology, have written an accessible and engaging account of their exciting new theory of cosmic origins. Should their approach someday be confirmed, it would result in a major upheaval to our understanding of how everything - space, time, and matter - came to be.' (Brian Greene )

'this book is a strike at the facade of certainty that pervades cosmology... it deserves to be widely read' (FOCUS magazine )

'[Steinhardt and Turok] argue persuasively for the elegance of their idea' (THE GUARDIAN )

'a highly readable account of two scientists' struggle to imagine the universe... captures excellently the excitement of scientific advance' (PHYSICS WORLD ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Two brilliant theorists offer a true-to-life account of their quest to solve one of the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Perhaps you don't believe in strings, or extra spatial dimensions, or D-branes, or that the universe's accelerated expansion may someday reverse. But I urge you to suspend such views and read Steinhardt and Turok's dramatic and very readable account of their cyclic model of the universe. It may be closer to the truth than you think!' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok, two architects of modern cosmology, have written an accessible and engaging account of their exciting new theory of cosmic origins. Should their approach someday be confirmed, it would result in a major upheaval to our understanding of how everything - space, time, and matter - came to be.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'this book is a strike at the facade of certainty that pervades cosmology... it deserves to be widely read' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'[Steinhardt and Turok] argue persuasively for the elegance of their idea' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'a highly readable account of two scientists' struggle to imagine the universe... captures excellently the excitement of scientific advance' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal

The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place.

In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets.

Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos.  It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” (USA Today).

Neil Turok is professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. He was born in South Africa and read Natural Sciences at Churchill College Cambridge before taking a PhD at Imperial College. His recent appointments have been as Reader in Physics at Imperial College, and Full Professor of Physics at Princeton. He lives in Cambridge. PAUL J. STEINHARDT is the Albert Einstein Professor in science and on the faculty of the departments of physics and astrophysical sciences at Princeton University. NEIL TUROK is professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. He was born in South Africa and read Natural Sciences at Churchill College Cambridge before taking a PhD at Imperial College. His recent appointments have been as Reader in Physics at Imperial College, and Full Professor of Physics at Princeton. He lives in Cambridge. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.