The universe is more complex than we imagined it to be a decade ago. Observations of distant supernovae, the cosmic microwave background, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, gamma-ray bursts, and gravitational lenses, now all indicate that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. It is as if the universe is filled with a sea of "dark energy," the pressure of which counteracts the pull of gravity on large scales.
The observations suggest a fundamental flaw in our understanding of the basic forces of nature. A wide variety of solutions have been proposed, ranging from modifications of General Relativity to new quantum fields. Observations related to dark energy now occupy a significant fraction of the observing time at major observatories. Each week, more than 20 new papers related to dark energy are published. Meanwhile, the international astronomical community is contemplating major investments in facilities aimed at better characterizing dark energy. The past decade marked the discovery of dark energy and the revelation of our profound ignorance of the cosmos. Dark-energy research over the next decade may well lead the way to a deeper understanding of the laws of physics.
The Space Telescope Science Institute's 2008 May Symposium: A Decade of Dark Energy, focused on cutting-edge issues in the study of dark energy. The conference, which was held May 5-8, included:
- Presentations of the latest observational results,
- Reviews and discussion of theoretical advances -- including the connection to other areas of fundamental physics,
- Discussion of ways to differentiate between models and figures of merit for optimizing future observations,
- Outlines of future dark-energy projects, and
- Discussion of measurement techniques and challenges, focusing on advances since the Dark Energy Task Force report.
Confirmed Speakers
| Andreas Albrecht | Steven Allen | Rachel Bean |
| Chuck Bennett | Gary Bernstein | Chris Blake |
| James Braatz | Sarah Bridle | Asantha Cooray |
| Ruth Daly | Daniel Eisenstein | Alex Filippenko |
| Brenna Flaugher | Wendy Freedman | Henk Hoekstra |
| Wayne Hu | Lam Hui | Dragan Huterer |
| Jai-chan Hwang | Bhuvnesh Jain | Saurabh Jha |
| Robert Kirshner | Lawrence Krauss | Tod Lauer |
| Mario Livio | Ishwaree Neupane | Lyman Page |
| John Peacock | William Percival | Saul Perlmutter |
| Valeria Pettorino | Adam Riess | Paul Steinhardt |
| Mark Sullivan | Michael Turner | Tony Tyson |
| Licia Verde | Yun Wang | Scott Watson |
| Edward Witten |
Organizing Committee
| Harry Ferguson | Norbert Pirzkal |
| Jonathan Bagger | Chuck Bennett |
| Van Dixon | S. Michael Fall |
| Andrew Fruchter | Benne Holwerda |
| Mario Livio | Duccio Macchetto |
| Warren Moos | Marc Postman |
| Neill Reid | Adam Riess |
| Massimo Robberto | Massimo Stiavelli |