Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Georges Lemaître, Pioneer of Modern Theoretical Cosmology

  • Published:
Foundations of Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

No other scientist may have had a greater impact on modern cosmology than the Belgian physicist, astronomer and priest Georges Lemaître. In 1927 he predicted the expansion of the universe on the basis of the cosmological field equations; and four years later he proposed what he called the primeval-atom hypothesis, the first version of the later big bang universe. In all his work on cosmology the cosmological constant Λ played a significant role. A recognized expert in the theory of general relativity, Lemaître also contributed significantly to the theoretical clarification of local and global singularity problems. Still, when he died in 1968, at a time when the standard big bang model celebrated its first victories, he was largely forgotten or recalled only as a somewhat shadowy figure of the past. This essay reviews in a historical context the scientific work of Lemaître with particular attention to his seminal contributions in the decade between 1925 and 1934.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lambert, D.: The Atom of the Universe. Copernicus Center Press, Cracow (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Farrell, J.: The Day Without Yesterday. Thunder’s Mouth Press, New York (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mitton, S.: The expanding universe of Georges Lemaître. Astron. Geophys. 58, 2.28–2.32 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Deprit, A.: Monsignor Georges Lemaître. In: Berger, A. (ed.) The Big Bang and Georges Lemaître, pp. 363–392. Reidel, Dordrecht (1984)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Hoyle, F.: Home is Where the Wind Blows: Chapters from a Cosmologist’s Life. University Science Books, Mill Valey, CA (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Lemaître, G.: Note on de Sitter’s universe. J. Math. Phys. 4, 188–192 (1925)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Stoffel, J.-F.: Mgr. Georges Lemaître, Savant et Croyant. Centre Interfacultaire d’Étude en Histoire des Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve (1996)

  8. Lemaître, G.: L’univers, problème accessible à la science humaine. Rev. d’Hist. Sci. 31, 345–359 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Luminet, J.-P.: Alexandre Friedmann, Georges Lemaître: Essais de Cosmologie. Éditions du Seuil, Paris (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lemaître, G.: A homogeneous universe of constant mass and increasing radius. J. Gen. Rel. Gravit. 45, 1635–1646 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hetherington, N.: The delayed response to suggestions of an expanding universe. J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 84, 22–28 (1973)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lemaître, G.: La grandeur de l’espace. Rev. Quest. Sci. 15, 189–216 (1929)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lemaître, G.: A homogeneous universe of constant mass and increasing radius. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 91, 483–490 (1931)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Livio, M.: Lost in translation: mystery of the missing text solved. Nature 479, 171–173 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lemaître, G.: Rencontres avec A. Einstein. Rev. Quest. Sci. 19, 129–132 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kragh, H., Smith, R.: Who discovered the expanding universe? Hist. Sci. 41, 141–162 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  17. Nussbaumer, H., Bieri, L.: Discovering the Expanding Universe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Kragh, H., Lambert, D.: The context of discovery: Lemaître and the origin of the primeval-atom hypothesis. Ann. Sci. 64, 445–470 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Eddington, A.: On the instability of the Einstein world. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 90, 668–678 (1930)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Lemaître, G.: L’expansion de l’espace. Rev. Quest. Sci. 17, 391–410 (1931)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Lemaître, G.: The Primeval Atom, trans. B. Korff and S. Korff. Van Nostrand, New York (1950)

  22. Lemaître, G.: The beginning of the world from the point of view of quantum theory. Nature 127, 706 (1931)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Lemaître, G.: L’hypothèse de l’atome primitif. Act. Soc. Helv. Sci. Nat. 77–96 (1945)

  24. Lemaître, G.: The expanding universe. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 91, 490–501 (1931)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Plaskett, J.: The expansion of the universe. J. R. Astron. Soc. Canada 27, 235–252 (1933)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kragh, H.: Lemaître and the primeval atom. In: Holder, R., Mitton, S. (eds.) Georges Lemaître: Life, Science and Legacy, pp. 23–38. Springer, Heidelberg (2012)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  27. Lemaître, G.: The cosmological constant. In: Schilpp, P. (ed.) Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, pp. 437–456. Library of Living Philosophers, New York (1949)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Bonolis, L.: Stellar structure and compact objects before 1940: towards relativistic astrophysics. Eur. Phys. J. H 42, 311–393 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Tolman, R.: Discussion of various treatments which have been given to the non-static line element for the universe. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 16, 582–594 (1930)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Lemaître, G.: Evolution of the expanding universe. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 20, 12–17 (1934)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Kragh, H., Overduin, J.: The Weight of the Vacuum: A Scientific History of Dark Energy. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  32. Kragh, H.: Cosmology and Controversy. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Lemaître Archive, Louvain-la-Neuve

  34. Eisenstaedt, J.: Lemaître and the Schwarzschild solution. In: Earman, J., et al. (eds.) The Attraction of Gravitation, pp. 353–389. Birkhäuser, Boston (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Lemaître, G.: L’univers en expansion. Ann. Soc. Scient. Bruxelles A 53, 51–85 (1933)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  36. Lemaître, G.: The expanding universe. Gen. Rel. Grav. 29, 641–680 (1997)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  37. Tolman, R.: Effect of inhomogeneity in cosmological models. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 20, 169–176 (1934)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. O’Raifeartaigh, C., McCann, B.: Einstein’s cosmic model of 1931 revisited. Eur. Phys. J. H 39, 63–86 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Lemaître, G.: The primaeval atom hypothesis and the problem of the clusters of galaxies. In: Stoops, R. (ed.) La Structure et l’Évolution de l’Univers, pp. 1–25. Coudenberg, Brussels (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Zaycoff, R.: Zur relativistischen Kosmogonie. Zeits. Astrophys. 6(128–137), 193–197 (1933)

    ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  41. Godart, O., Heller, M.: Cosmology of Lemaître. Pachart Publishing House, Tucson (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Gamow, G.: The Creation of the Universe. Viking Press, New York (1952)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Gamow, G.: On relativistic cosmogony. Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 367–373 (1949)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. Lemaître, G.: Cosmological applications of relativity. Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 357–366 (1949)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  45. Kragh, H.: George Gamow and the factual approach to relativistic cosmology. In: Kox, A., Eisenstaedt, J. (eds.) The Universe of General Relativity, pp. 175–188. Birkhäuser, Boston (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  46. Kragh, H.: Matter and Spirit in the Universe. Imperial College Press, London (2004)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  47. Lambert, D.: Monseigneur Georges Lemaître et le débat entre la cosmologie et la foi. Rev. Théol. Louvain 28, 28–53 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Helge Kragh

Authors
  1. Helge Kragh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helge Kragh.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kragh, H. Georges Lemaître, Pioneer of Modern Theoretical Cosmology. Found Phys 48, 1333–1348 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-018-0186-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-018-0186-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation