Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology

- Einstein’s Legacy -

Expose for an International Astrophysics Conference

November 14.-18. 2005 in Munich

The year 2005 marks the 100^th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s "miraculous year" in which he published three seminal papers describing ideas that have since influenced all of modern physics: the theories of special relativity, the photoelectric effect and the Brownian motion. In Germany several major scientific outreach events are planned for the "Einstein-Year" and on June 1^st, 2004, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared the year 2005 the International Year of Physics.

Modern astrophysics and cosmology are building on Einstein’s theories, most importantly the theory of relativity, and can thus undoubtedly represent one of his legacies. In the current "Golden Age" of Astrophysics, several new observatories, instruments and satellite missions (e.g. Swift and Astro-E2) are expected to provide new data in 2005. We are planning to celebrate the "Einstein-Year" in Munich, marking one of the final highlights of this "Annus Mirabilis" with an international conference summarizing recent progress in relativisic astrophysics and cosmology.

Proposed Venue & Date: November 14. - 18. 2005, Bavarian Academy of Sciences Munich, 200-300 participants expected.

Planned Sponsors: Max-Planck-Society (MPE & MPIA), European Southern Observatory, Ludwigs-Maximilians-University Munich, Technical University Munich, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften

Scientific Advisory Committee: R. Blandford, J. Ehlers, R. Genzel, G. Hasinger (Chair), G. Neugebauer, M. Rees, H.-W. Rix, P. Schneider, B. Schutz (*), R. Sunyaev, J. Trümper (*: tbc)

Representative Scientific Themes:

Gamma-Ray Bursts - the creation of black holes?

Compact galactic objects: Neutron Stars, Black Holes, Microquasars

The Galactic Center and Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies

Active Galactic Nuclei, their feeding and feedback

Gravitational Wave Astrophysics

Clusters of Galaxies and Large Scale Structure

Dark Matter and Dark Energy - Einstein’s greatest triumph?

This expose´ summarizes the current ideas for the meeting as a first information for the planned sponsors and members of the scientific advisory committee. Comments and feedback are very welcome.

Günther Hasinger, July 12, 2004