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Thomas Hertog, Professor of physics, KU Leuven

Stephen Hawking and I created his final theory of the cosmos – here's what it reveals about the origins of time and life

Hawking and the author. Photograph: Thomas Hertog and Jonathan Wood, Author provided

The late physicist Stephen Hawking first asked me to work with him to develop “a new quantum theory of the Big Bang” in 1998. What started out as a doctoral project evolved over some 20 years into an intense collaboration that ended only with his passing on March 14 2018.

The enigma at the centre of our research throughout this period was how the Big Bang could have created conditions so perfectly hospitable to life. Our answer is being published in a new book, On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory.

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