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The eclipse of CDM
Tom Shanks (Durham)
For the past 20 years, the idea that the Universe may be dominated by Cold
Dark Matter has formed the standard cosmological model. However, until
the CDM particle is detected in the laboratory, this standard model must
continue to be scrutinised for problems and inconsistencies. If the
search for the CDM particle proves fruitless, then this period may
ultimately be likened to the last 20 years of the 19th century where the
search for the electromagnetic 'ether' had to be carefully made before
alternative models could be considered. In this talk I first review the
fundamental arguments which I believe imply that the standard CDM model
requires fine tuning at such a fundamental level that it is unlikely to be
correct. I continue by highlighting 5-6 lower-level observational problems
for the CDM model which are currently the subject of much discussion by
the CDM community itself. I close by arguing that the key to further
progress in cosmology may lie in further critical scrutiny of the
observational status of the cosmological distance scale and the value of
Hubble's Constant.
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