Lecture to discuss the universe

On Tuesday and Wednesday, IU will host two lectures by Sir Roger Penrose, author and mathematical physicist.\nPenrose is this year’s guest for the 18th annual Joseph and Sophia Konopinski Public Lecture and Colloquia Series in Physics. With the promise of presenting a “radical new idea,” Penrose will discuss the nature of the universe before the Big Bang.\nPenrose served from 1973 to 1998 as Rouse Ball professor of mathematics at Oxford University, one of the senior chairs of the mathematics department at the renowned university. He now holds the position of Emeritus Rouse Ball professor.\nPenrose has written a number of popular books, including “The Emperor’s New Mind,” in which he addresses the limitations of artificial intelligence and how a better understanding of physics could lead people to a better understanding of consciousness. The New York Times Book Review said it “ranks among the most innovative and exciting science books to have been published in the last 40 years.” \nIn addition to being a bestselling author and revered professor, Penrose is best known in his field for laying the groundwork for a more concrete discussion on black holes. Penrose worked closely with Stephen Hawking and in 1988, they shared the coveted Wolf Foundation Prize for Physics for their work, said Tim Londergan, an IU professor of physics and director of the Wells Scholar program. \n“His work with Hawking is directly related to astrophysics and in particular cosmology,” Londergan said. \nTuesday’s lecture will include Penrose’s new proposition on what occurred before the Big Bang, which addresses an issue in cosmology that continues to mystify experts. This issue involves the origin of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the assertion that the randomness of an isolated system increases with time. \nDr. V. Alan Kostelecky, distinguished professor of theoretical physics at IU who specializes in violations of space-time symmetries, said the universe must have been very ordered in the beginning.\n“At the time of the Big Bang, the order must have been quite different,” he said.\nThe colloquium on Wednesday will outline the main points of Penrose’s “twistor theory.” Having gained recent attention because of work by superstring specialist Ed Witten, the Penrose’s theory is playing an important part in high-energy physics, according to a press release. He will talk about the role of “dark energy” in the universe. The twistor theory demonstrates its place in a cosmological setting and takes dark energy into account, according to a press release.\nConsidering that gravity is thought to be the only force that acts on large bodies, it is expected that the expansion of the universe should be slowing down, said Dr. Stuart Mufson, a professor in the IU Department of Astronomy. However, cosmological observations show that this expansion is actually speeding up at exponential rates. \n“Dark energy causes the universe to expand at ever increasing speeds,” he said.\nThe lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Whittenberger Auditorium.