Björn Malte Schäfer Can General Relativity Explain the Properties of Gravity on Very Large Scales?
Björn Malte Schäfer is Professor of Fundamental Physics at Heidelberg University. In 2008, he was appointed head of a research group at the Graduate School for Fundamental Physics at Heidelberg University where he also earned his habilitation in 2012. His research is focused, among other topics, on cosmic structure formation, anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background and gravitational lensing. He received his PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.
Area of Research
Cosmology, Fundamental Physics
since 2013
Professor of Fundamental Physics
Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
Department of Physics and Astronomy
2009-2012
Junior Research Group Leader
Heidelberg Graduate School for Fundamental Physics
2006-2007
Post-Doc
University of Portsmouth
Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation
2005
Post-Doc
Max Planck Society
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
2012
Habilitation in Physics
Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
2005
PhD
Max Planck Society
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
1994-2000
Degree in Physics
Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
Gravity is the decisive force driving the formation and evolution of cosmic structures. BJÖRN MALTE SCHÄFER is interested in the properties of gravity on very large scales as well as in very specific questions concerning structure formation, such as how galaxies acquire their angular momentum, how they start rotating, and how galaxies interact with surrounding structures. Currently, the understanding of gravity is based on general relativity. As is explained in this video, the research group tried to investigate the properties of gravity by making observations on very large scales, i.e. they look at the formation and evolution of structures in the universe, namely galaxies. Applying this method, they have found good evidence to further support the idea of general relativity as the theory of gravity on large scales. This allows to make specific predictions for future surveys and future experiments.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10450
The Role of Cosmology in Modern Physics
- Björn Malte Schäfer
- Conference: Why Trust a Theory? Reconsidering Scientific Methodology in Light of Modern Physics
- Published in 2015
