Cosmic Information Theory and Analysis: IT from BIT, from BITs in IT

Abstract

We consider the Universe to be fundamentally quantum and statistical, the many-paths/many-worlds story. This lecture uses Cosmic Information Theory and Analysis, CITA, as a unifying theme to explore the vast sweep of our current ideas of the Universe and the experiments we use to probe them, ranging from the ultra-early beginnings to our far-future fate. I describe the intimate entanglement of theory with precision "first-light" and other cosmic data, in particular from the satellite Planck and the Andes-based ACT. Such data are the BITs in IT informing us of the physics that defines the BIT of the Universe accessible to us from which we hope to learn of that vast IT which encodes all Cosmic Information. The mysterious dark energy that drives the cosmic acceleration we observe happening now and its early universe counterpart, inflation, will be a focus.