Christof Wetterich

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Christof Wetterich in 2005

Christof Wetterich (born April 12, 1952 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) is a German theoretical physicist who has held the chair at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg since 1992 . He has been a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 2006 .

Live and act

Christof Wetterich studied physics in Paris , Cologne and Freiburg, where he also received his diploma in 1978. He received his doctorate in 1979 and completed his habilitation in Freiburg in 1983. From 1981 to 1983 he worked at CERN in Geneva and in the following years until 1985 as a university assistant in Bern , from March to August 1985 he was again at CERN as a Heisenberg scholar. From 1984 to 1992 he worked at DESY in Hamburg. Wetterich has held a chair at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg since 1992 . He has been a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 2006 .

From 1996 to 1998 he was a member of the Scientific Council of DESY and has been a member of the selection committee for award winners of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation since 1998 .

Quintessence

Wetterich researches astro and particle physics . He was the first to suggest the existence of a "dynamic dark energy," the quintessence . His quintessential model provides a popular explanation for the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Expansion-free universe

Contrary to the prevailing opinion, Wetterich does not see the cosmic expansion as a fact, but only as a possible interpretation of the observed redshift . An equivalent view is to interpret this as an increase in all masses of the universe. Distant objects would appear to us to be redshifted because of their lower masses in the past.

An expansion of the universe would only have taken place in the inflation phase . This would now be static or would even be in a state of contraction. The model is consistent with all observations and also avoids the problem of the big bang singularity, as this would extend infinitely far into the past.

Honourings and prices

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A brief appreciation of Wetterich's research on the occasion of the award of the Max Planck Research Prize ( Memento from September 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Jon Cartwright: Cosmologist claims Universe may not be expanding. Nature , July 16, 2013, accessed July 27, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Michael Odenwald: Physics professor Wetterich reinvents the universe. Focus , July 23, 2013, accessed July 27, 2013 .
  4. ^ C. Wetterich: A Universe without expansion . In: Cornell University . March 27, 2013. arxiv : 1303.6878 .
  5. ↑ PHYSICS IN THE THEATER: Space. Time. Universe - The Riddles of the Beginning , Christof Wetterich, University of Mainz, 2016-01-19.
personal data
SURNAME Wetterich, Christof
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theoretical physicist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Freiburg in Breisgau