C.B. Collins and Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).

‘Why is the Universe Isotropic?’ Offprint from: The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 239, No. 2, Part 1, pp.317-334. [Chicago: University of Chicago Press for the American Astronomical Society,] 1973. Provenance: the estate of the late Professor Stephen Hawking.

First separate edition of Hawking’s analysis of the cosmological principle The paper argues that it is extremely unlikely that a universe which started in an anisotropic state (i.e. not uniform in all directions) would have evolved to produce the nearly isotropic universe that we see today. Hawking and Collins speculate that the special initial conditions of our universe might be explained by anthropic reasoning.

Octavo (241 x 165mm). Original stapled wrappers (punch holes).

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