Conference on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Chernogolovka, Russia
theory of cosmic inflation, which established the roles of gravitational wave
production, and of super-horizon fluctuations in creating the seeds of cosmic
structure."
to Korea to receive the award at the ICGAC-15 meeting now in July 2023, we look
forward to presenting the award in person at a special event in future.
a handful of pioneers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many hundreds of
models of cosmic inflation were developed over the next few decades.
Furthermore, hundreds of models are now ruled out by detailed observations of
the cosmic microwave background, its anisotropies and their polarization.
the first models proposed by
confrontation with observations. Starobinsky's model predicts a spectrum of
primordial gravitational waves, with a tensor to scalar ratio close to zero. This
may be a generic feature of scale-free gravitation models in the early
universe.
predicted by
structure formation, but in the early 1980s Sato also made pioneering
contributions on the evolution of cosmic voids in the classical regime. Cosmic
voids are a dominant feature of the observed cosmic web, and may help unlock
further mysteries.
not made. But there is an opposing tradition established by our own
intellectual forebears in gravitational physics and cosmology. The ICGAC-15
committee therefore resolved to make the award.
astrophysicist Arthur Stanley Eddington championed the theory of general
relativity proposed in 1915 by Albert Einstein in Berlin. Eddington's moral
stance and pacifism at times put him in opposition with the British government
then at war with Germany.
signed the founding document of Pugwash, later established in 1957 by Joseph
Rotblat and Bertrand Russell.
field have borne witness that as scientists we face a particular moral
responsibility. Science and scientific curiosity have led to immeasurable human
progress but also to existential threats of total destruction. At a time when
the crisis of climate change demands global cooperation, we now face other
existential crises also.
only acknowledge two outstanding theoretical physicists - Alexei Starobinsky
and Katsuhiko Sato - from the Asia-Pacific region, but also the legacy that has
been passed on to us. It is the legacy of numerous physicists who in the 1980s
were active in Pugwash, or like Stephen Hawking in the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament.
an organization that represents physicists from USA, Russia and the EU, from
China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and beyond, we come together to discuss and debate
the cutting-edge questions of physics, with mutual respect, regardless of our
cultural backgrounds.