Introduction to Cosmology

Jayant Narlikar - The Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA)Professor Jayant V. Narlikar was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra on July 19, 1938. He received his school education in the University Children's School, Banaras Hindu University, where his father V.V. Narlikar was Professor of Mathematics. After graduating from B.H.U. Jayant Narlikar went for higher studies, as a J.N. Tata Scholar to Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge. At Cambridge University he took the Mathematical Tripos examinations, becoming a Wrangler in 1959, and winning a distinction in the final examinations in 1960 along with the Tyson Medal for astronomy. He enrolled as a research student under the guidance of Professor Fred Hoyle in 1960.In his Cambridge career spanning fifteen years from 1957 to 1972, Jayant Narlikar received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in 1960, 1964 and 1963 respectively. Later, in 1976 he was awarded the Sc.D. (Cantab) degree for distinguished research. He was elected a Fellow of King's College in 1963 and became a Staff Member of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in 1966. While at Cambridge, he won the Smith's Prize (1962) and the Adams Prize (1967) of the University of Cambridge.Dr. Narlikar returned to India in 1972 as a professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research where he headed the Theoretical Astrophysics Group. He was a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow during 1973-75 and a UGC National Lecturer during 1979-80.Dr. Narlikar's early work with Hoyle was on the steady state theory of the universe. This work provided, for the first time a working theory for describing continous creation of matter within the framework of Einstein's general relativity theory. Hoyle and Narlikar also gave a complete description of electrodynamics at the quantum as well as the classical level, using the concept of action at a distance. Their work on electrodynamics led them to a new theory of gravity which is now known as the conformal theory of gravity.After returning to India Professor Narlikar continued his work on cosmology and astrophysics. He investigated further implications of the conformal theory of gravity and his subsequent work (with Dr. P.K. Das of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics) provides an explanation for the anomalous redshifts of quasars. With his colleague Professor K.M.V. Apparao at TIFR and Dr. N. Dadhich at Poona University, Professor Narlikar developed the concept of white holes as explosive sources of energy which might account for some of the violent phenomena in the universe. In 1978 Professor Narlikar and Professor S.M. Chitre at TIFR advanced the hypothesis of gravitational bending of radio waves by intervening galaxies to account for the apparent faster than light motion observed in some quasars during the last decade. Professor Narlikar's work also includes investigations of the behaviour of tachyons in strong gravitational fields. Between 1977 and 1985 he was engaged in the study of quantum fluctuations in the vicinity of space-time singularities at the origin of the Universe. He is also an active participant in the ongoing controversy about the distance of quasars.Recently along with Professors Fred Hoyle and Geoffrey Burbidge he has been engaged in a revival of the old steady state concept in a new form known as the Quasi-Steady State Cosmology. In this the universe undergoes short term oscillations superposed on a long term steady expansion. This model has no beginning or end but has periodic phases of matter creation. He and Fred Hoyle have also revived their earlier work on quantum electro-dynamics to show that suitable cosmological boundary conditions provide a cut off to high frequencies there-by making the hitherto divergent integrals finite.Professor Narlikar was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1974, of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) in 1977 and of the National Academy of Sciences, India in 1986. He is a Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. He is also a member of the Indian Physics Association, the Astronomical Society of India and the Indian Association of General Relativity and Gravitation. He was awarded the Golden Jubilee Gold Medal by the Institute of Science, Bombay in 1973. He received the 1978 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Physical Sciences. In 1983 he was elected Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society, London. The FIE Foundation conferred on him its highest honour, the Rashtrabhushan Award, in May 1983. His other awards include the Durgaprasad Khaitan Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta and the INSA-Vainu Bappu Award for Astronomy. In 1993 he was the first recipient of the M.P. Birla Award for astronomy. In May, 1995 he was the Distinguished Lecturer of the IAC-BBV Foundation in Spain.Apart from his scientific research Professor Narlikar has written books and articles at the non-technical level to popularize science in Marathi, Hindi as well as English. His book on astronomy in Marathi was published by the Maharashtra State Board of Literature and Culture. He has also written several science fiction stories and three novels in Marathi. He has participated in radio and TV programmes on science in English, Hindi and Marathi. His 17-part serial `Brahmand' (the Universe) in Hindi was screened by Doordarshan during 1995. Since 1997 he has been regularly appearing on the television programme called Surabhi in which he answers scientific questions from the general public. For these services to science popularization he has received several state and national awards including INSA's Indira Gandhi Award, UNESCO's Kalinga Award and the Godavari Gaurav Puraskar of the Kusumagraj Pratishthan.Professor Narlikar has served on several national committees including the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (1986-90) and the Indo-US Sub-Commission on Education and Culture (1985-89). In 1994 he became the President of the Cosmology Commission of the International Astronomical Union.In 1966 Jayant Narlikar married Mangala Rajwade, a mathematics graduate from Bombay. They have three daughters, Geeta, Girija and Leelavati.In 1988 Professor Narlikar was appointed the first Honorary Director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) set up in Pune by the University Grants Commision. He moved to Pune in June 1989 to take this assignment as a whole-time activity. He continues his teaching, research and creative writing while shouldering the challenging task of making IUCAA an institution of international standard.