List of cosmologists
This is a list of people who have made noteworthy contributions to cosmology (the study of the history and large-scale structure of the universe) and their cosmological achievements.
A
- Tom Abel (1970–) studied primordial star formation
- Roberto Abraham (1965–) studied the shapes of early galaxies
- Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) theorized that galactic magnetic fields could be generated by plasma currents
- Ralph A. Alpher (1921–2007) argued that observed proportions of hydrogen and helium in the universe could be explained by the big bang model, predicted cosmic background radiation
- Aristarchus of Samos (310–230 BC) was an early proponent of heliocentrism
- Aristotle (circa 384–322 BC) posited a geocentric cosmology that was widely accepted for many centuries
- Aryabhata (476–550) described a geocentric model with slow and fast epicycles
B
- Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (787–886) conveyed Aristotle's theories from Persia to Europe
- James M. Bardeen (1939–) studied the mathematics of black holes and of vacua under general relativity
- John D. Barrow (1952–) popularized the anthropic cosmological principle
- Charles L. Bennett (1956–) studied the large-scale structure of the universe by mapping irregularities in microwave background radiation
- Orfeu Bertolami (1959–) studied the cosmological constant, inflation, dark energy-dark matter unification and interaction, alternative gravity theories
- Somnath Bharadwaj studied large-scale structure formation
- James Binney (1950–) studied galactic dynamics and supernova disruption of galactic gasses
- Martin Bojowald (1973–) studied loop quantum gravity and established loop quantum cosmology
- Hermann Bondi (1919–2005) developed the steady-state model
- Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) promoted a geo-heliocentric system of epicycles
C
- Bernard J. Carr promoted the anthropic principle, studied primordial black holes
- Sean M. Carroll (1966–) researched dark energy, general relativity, and spontaneous inflation
- Peter Coles (1963–) modeled galactic clustering and authored several cosmology books
- Asantha Cooray (1973–) studied dark energy, halo models of large structure, and cosmic microwave radiation
- Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was the first scientist to formulate a heliocentric cosmology
D
- Paul Davies (1946–) developed a vacuum model that explains microwave background fluctuation, studies time's arrow, and has written many popular-press books
- Marc Davis (astronomer) (1947–) was lead astronomer of a survey of 50,000 high-redshift galaxies
- Avishai Dekel (1951–) studied galaxy formation and large scale structure in dark matter-dark energy dominated universes
- Robert H. Dicke (1916–1997) measured background radiation, used an early version of the anthropic principle to relate the gravitational constant to the age of the universe
- Mike J. Disney (1937–) discovered low surface brightness galaxies
E
- Jürgen Ehlers (1929–2008) described gravitational lensing and studied the mathematical implications of an isotropic microwave background
- Jaan Einasto (1929–) studied structure in the large-scale distribution of superclusters of galaxies
- Albert Einstein (1879–1955) invented general relativity and the cosmological constant
- George F. R. Ellis (1939–) theorized a cylindrical steady-state universe with a naked singularity as recycling mechanism
- Richard S. Ellis (1950–) used gravitational lensing and high-redshift supernovae to study the origin of galaxies, large scale structure, and dark matter
F
- Sandra M. Faber (1944–) discovered the Great Attractor, a supercluster-scale gravitational anomaly; co-inventor of the theory of cold dark matter
- Carlos S. Frenk (1951–) studied cosmic structure formation
- Alexander Friedmann (1888–1925) discovered the expanding-universe solution to general relativity
G
- George Gamow (1904–1968) argued that observed proportions of hydrogen and helium in the universe could be explained by the big bang model, modeled the mass and radius of primordial galaxies
- Margaret J. Geller discovered the Great Wall, a superstructure-scale filament of galaxies
- Thomas Gold (1920–2004) proposed the steady-state theory
- Gerson Goldhaber (1924–) used supernova observations to measure the energy density of the universe
- J. Richard Gott (1947–) proposed the use of cosmic strings for time travel
- Alan Guth (1947–) explained the isotropy of the universe by theorizing a phase of exponential inflation soon after the big bang
H
- Stephen W. Hawking (1942–) described singularities in general relativity and developed singularity-free models of the big bang; predicted primordial black holes
- Charles W. Hellaby described models of general relativity with nonconstant metric signature
- Michał Heller (1936–) researched noncommutative approaches to quantum relativity
- Robert C. Herman (1914–1997) predicted the background radiation temperature
- Lars Hernquist studied galaxy formation and evolution
- Honorius Augustodunensis (–1151) wrote a popular encyclopedia of cosmology, geography, and world history
- Hans Hörbiger (1860–1931) formulated a pseudoscientific theory of ice as the basic substance of all cosmic processes
- Fred Hoyle (1915–2001) promoted the steady state theory, used the anthropic principle to explain the energy levels of carbon nuclei
- Edwin P. Hubble (1889–1953) demonstrated the existence of other galaxies and confirmed the relation between redshift and distance
- John P. Huchra (1948–) discovered the Great Wall, a superstructure-scale filament of galaxies
J
K
- Ronald Kantowski discovered spatially homogeneous but anisotropic solutions to general relativity
- Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) pioneered heliocentrism, discovered elliptical planetary motion, attempted to explain heavenly motions through physical causes
- Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov (1919–) conjectured an oscillatory model with an essential singularity for the evolution of the universe
- Tom W. B. Kibble introduced the concept of cosmic strings
- Robert Kirshner (1949–) discovered the Boötes void, a large region sparsely populated with galaxies, and wrote a popular book on cosmology
- Edward Kolb studied big bang cosmology including the emergence of baryons and dark matter, and wrote a popular textbook on cosmology
L
- Ofer Lahav (1959–) studied dark matter and dark energy
- Tod R. Lauer catalogued massive black holes at galaxy centers and correlated their mass with other properties of the galaxies' structures
- Georges Henri Lemaître (1894–1966) proposed the big bang theory and the distance-redshift relation
- Andrew R. Liddle (1965–) studied inflationary models, wrote two books on inflation and primordial inhomogeneities
- Evgeny M. Lifshitz (1915–1985) conjectured an oscillatory model with an essential singularity for the evolution of the universe
- Andrei Linde (1948–) pioneered inflationary models and proposed eternal chaotic inflation of universes from the false vacuum
- Abraham Loeb (1962–) researched primordial stars, primordial black holes, quasars, reionization, gravitational lensing, and gamma-ray bursts
- David H. Lyth studied particle cosmology, wrote two books on inflation and primordial inhomogeneities
M
- João Magueijo (1967–) proposed much faster speeds of light in the young universe as an alternative explanation to inflation for its homogeneity
- Richard Massey (1977–) mapped dark matter in the universe
- Charles W. Misner (1932–) studied solutions to general relativity including the mixmaster universe and Misner space, wrote influential text on gravitation
- John Moffat (1932–) proposed much faster speeds of light in the young universe, developed antisymmetric theories of gravity
- Lauro Moscardini modeled galaxy clustering in the early universe
N
P
- Thanu Padmanabhan (1957–) studied quantum gravity and quantum cosmology
- Leonard Parker established the study of quantum field theory within general relativity
- P. James E. Peebles (1935–) predicted cosmic background radiation, contributed to structure theory, developed models that avoid dark matter
- Roger Penrose (1931–) linked singularities to gravitational collapse, conjectured the nonexistence of naked singularities, and used gravitational entropy to explain homogeneity
- Arno Penzias (1933–) was the first to observe the cosmic background radiation
- Saul Perlmutter (1959–) used supernova observations to measure the expansion of the universe
- Joel Primack co-invented the theory of cold dark matter
- Ptolemy (90–168) wrote the only surviving ancient text on astronomy, conjectured a model of the universe as a set of nested spheres with epicycles
R
- Martin Rees (1942–) proposed that quasars are powered by black holes, disproved steady state by studying distribution of quasars
- Yoel Rephaeli used the distortion of the cosmic background by high-energy electrons to infer the existence of galaxy clusters
- Adam Riess (1969–) found evidence in supernova data that the expansion of the universe is accelerating and confirming dark energy models
- Howard P. Robertson (1903–1961) solved the two-body problem in an approximation to general relativity, developed the standard model of general relativity
- Vera Rubin (1928–) discovered discrepancies in galactic rotation rates leading to the theory of dark matter
S
- Rainer K. Sachs (1932–) discovered gravitationally induced redshifts in the cosmic background radiation
- Allan Sandage (1936–) set the cosmological distance scale and accurately estimated the speed of expansion of the universe
- Brian P. Schmidt (1967–) used supernova data to measure the acceleration in the expansion of the universe
- David N. Schramm (1945–1997) was an export on big bang theory and an early proponent of dark matter
- Dennis W. Sciama (1926–1999) studied many aspects of cosmology and supervised many other leading cosmologists
- Seleucus of Seleucia (c.190 BC–) used tidal observations to support a heliocentric model
- Roman Ulrich Sexl (1939–1986) developed an ether-based theory of absolute simultaneity that is mathematically equivalent to special relativity
- Al-Sijzi (c.945–1020) invented an astrolabe based on heliocentric principles
- Joseph Silk explained the homogeneity of the early universe using photon diffusion damping
- Willem de Sitter (1872–1934) developed a theory of dark matter with Einstein, found an expanding matterless solution to general relativity
- Lee Smolin (1955–) studied quantum gravity, popularized a theory of cosmological natural selection
- George F. Smoot (1945–) used Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite to measure the temperature and anisotropy of the early universe
- David N. Spergel (1961–) used Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite to measure the temperature and anisotropy of the early universe
- Paul Steinhardt helped develop inflation theory, introduced quintessential dark energy, studied brane cosmology and cyclic models of the universe
- Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (903–986) identified the large Magellanic cloud and made the first recorded observation of the Andromeda galaxy
- Nicholas B. Suntzeff used supernova observations to discover acceleration in the expansion of the universe, calibrated the supernova distance scale
- Rashid Sunyaev (1943–) developed a theory of density fluctuations in the early universe, described how to use cosmic background distortion to observe large-scale density fluctuations
- Brian Swimme (1950–) wrote four books on religious aspects of cosmology
T
- Max Tegmark (1967–) determined the parameters of the lambda-cold dark matter model using Sloan Survey data, studied mathematical models of multiverses
- William G. Tifft theorized that galactic redshifts are quantized
- Beatrice Tinsley (1941–1981) researched galactic evolution, the creation of lightweight elements, and accelerated expansion of the universe
- Frank J. Tipler (1947–) proved that time travel requires singularities, promoted the anthropic principle
- Richard Chase Tolman (1881–1948) showed that the cosmic background keeps a black-body profile as the universe expands
- Trinh Xuan Thuan (1948–) researched galaxy formation and evolution
- Mark Trodden (1968–) studied cosmological implications of topological defects in field theories
- Michael S. Turner coined the term dark energy
- Neil Turok (1958–) predicted correlations between polarization and temperature anisotropy in the cosmic background, explained the big bang as a brane collision
- Henry Tye (1947–) proposed brane-antibrane interactions as a cause of inflation
V
- Alexander Vilenkin introduced eternal inflation, studied cosmic strings, theorized the creation of the universe from quantum fluctuations
W
- Robert M. Wald (1947–) wrote a popular text on general relativity, studied the thermodynamics of black holes
- Arthur Geoffrey Walker (1909–2001) developed the standard model of general relativity and studied the mathematics of relativistic reference frames
- David Wands studied inflation, superstrings, and density perturbations in the early universe
- Yun Wang (1964–) uses supernova and galactic redshift data to probe dark energy
- Jeffrey Weeks used cosmic background patterns to determine the topology of the universe
- Simon D. White (1951–) studied galaxy formation in the lambda-cold dark matter model
- David Todd Wilkinson (1935–2002) used satellite probes to measure the cosmic background radiation
- Edward L. Wright promoted big bang theories, studied the effect of dust absorption on measurements of the cosmic background
Z
- Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich (1914–1987) used accretion disks of massive black holes to explain quasars, predicted Compton scattering of the cosmic background
See also