Cosmology Update 1998

Abstract

For two decades the hot big-bang model has been referred to as the standard cosmology -- and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not addressed by the standard cosmology and point to a grander theory. The best candidate for that grander theory is inflation + cold dark matter. It holds that the Universe is flat, that slowly moving elementary particles left over from the earliest moments provide the cosmic infrastructure, and that the primeval density inhomogeneities that seed all large-scale structure arose from quantum fluctuations. There is now prima facie evidence that supports two basic tenets of this paradigm, and an avalanche of high-quality cosmological observations will soon make this case stronger or will break it. Key questions remain to be answered; foremost among them are: identification and detection of the cold dark matter particles and elucidation of the mysterious dark-energy component. These are exciting times in cosmology!