EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This is the whole set of Lectures that were presented in the VII Brazilian School of Cosmology and Gravitation. The meeting took place at Portobello, Mangaratiba, a small ancient village at 74 km from Rio de Janeiro. This School represents the summing up of efforts of the Brazilian group of cosmology of LAFEX (Laboratório de Cosmologia e Física Experimental de Altas Energias -CBPF) to keep the cosmology research in Brazil in an international level.

(Extracted from the foreword, by the editor).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Foreword.

-Acknowledgements.

-List of Participants.

-Contents.

-I. Elementary Particles in Cosmology.
-II. Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime.
-III. Multidimensional Classical and Quantum Cosmology and Gravitation: Exact Solutions and Variations of Constants.
-IV. Nonlocal Electrodynamics.
-V. Theoretical Cosmology.
-VI. Perturbations in the Expanding Universe.
-VII. Observing the Universe.
-VIII. Generalized Quantizations of Gauge Theories.
-IX. Quantum Effects in Cosmology.

-Figure Captations.

-Figure 1-9.

OUR REVIEW

The VII School of Cosmology and Gravitation is one more example of the intense works being carried out all over the world in order to advance in this important field of Science. During this symposium, the main lines of work dealt with were the Cosmological Theory of Perturbations, the Relationship between Cosmology and High Energy Physics, and the Theoretical Aspects of Cosmology.

Given the fact that this symposium has in a way been held quite recently (August 1993), the volume produced by the publishers from the works presented there can be considered a good, updated contribution to these topics, although some of the latest discoveries by the Hubble Space Telescope could add precision to some of the conclusions reached by the participants. This will be left for a future symposium.

The book can be defined as quite exhaustive, and is intended for professionals as well as advanced students. The generous number of pages and contributions included, all of them made by researchers from 13 different countries, illustrates the considerable interest that nowadays there exists on this matter all over the world.