Origin and fate of the Universe

Abstract

“How did the Universe begin?” is one of humanity’s oldest questions. The approach to this question gets inputs from many fields, varying from the largest to the smallest scales, from cosmology to particle physics. The last century provided the opportunity to apply the scientific method to this question with results that have established a first comprehensive understanding of the origin, content, and fate of the Universe. The tremendous leap forward in technology experienced in this new century will allow us to challenge this model to extreme levels, establishing it robustly or leading to new and deeper open questions. This chapter is about the understanding of the content of the Universe, its history, and its ultimate fate.