Line 27:
Line 27: ** [[General Relativity Primer]]
** [[General Relativity Primer]]
** [[Friedmann Equation]]
** [[Friedmann Equation]]
− ** [[Spatial Curvature]]
+
====Density parameter Omega; open, flat, closed cosmological models [Ch 6]====
====Density parameter Omega; open, flat, closed cosmological models [Ch 6]====
* Topics
* Topics
− ** [[Critical Density]]
+ ** [[Spatial Curvature ]]
** [[Equations of State]]
** [[Equations of State]]
Revision as of 10:46, 19 January 2017
Elements of general relativity. Physics of pulsars, cosmic rays, black holes. The cosmological distance scale, elementary cosmological models, properties of galaxies and quasars. The mass density and age of the universe. Evidence for dark matter and dark energy and concepts of the early universe and of galaxy formation. Reflections on astrophysics as a probe of the extrema of physics.
Contents
1 Logistics 2 Topics by Date
2.1 Lecture 1: The Cosmological Principle; Hubble parameter H; scale factor a [Ch 1,2] 2.2 Lecture 2: Friedmann equation; equation of state; radiation, matter, dark energy [Ch 3,4,5] 2.3 Density parameter Omega; open, flat, closed cosmological models [Ch 6] 2.4 Time evolution of H, Omega, and a [Ch 7] 2.5 Rudiments of general relativity; the Robertson-Walker metric [Ch 8, A1] 2.6 Basic kinematic properties: distance-redshift, time-redshift, age, angular sizes [A2] 2.7 The Planck mass; the ugliest number in physics 2.8 Thermodynamics of Fermi and Bose gases in an expanding universe 2.9 The longest 3 minutes of your life 2.10 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: helium, deuterium, lithium, baryon-to-photon ratio [Ch 12] 2.11 Evidence for dark matter [Ch 9] 2.12 Evidence for dark energy 2.13 Two dark matter problems: baryonic vs non-baryonic 2.14 What can they be? 2.15 Gravitational instability in a static universe 2.16 Gravitational instability in an expanding universe 2.17 Growth of cosmic structures 2.18 Photon-baryon scattering physics; the cosmic microwave background [Ch 10, A5] 2.19 Successes of the standard Big Bang model [Ch 11] 2.20 Problems of the standard Big Bang model [Ch 13] 2.21 How to fix it? Inflation 2.22 Supermassive black holes at centers of galaxies 6.2 Gravity waves: sources: binary black holes 2.23 Gravity waves: detection 2.24 Selected Topics (student presentations)
Logistics Topics by Date Lecture 1: The Cosmological Principle; Hubble parameter H; scale factor a [Ch 1,2] Topics
class mechanics
syllabus
tools for figuring stuff out
theoretical derivation
order-of-magnitude estimation
physical intuition (hands-on modeling, analogies)
numerical simulation/programming Lecture 2: Friedmann equation; equation of state; radiation, matter, dark energy [Ch 3,4,5]
Density parameter Omega; open, flat, closed cosmological models [Ch 6] Time evolution of H, Omega, and a [Ch 7]
Rudiments of general relativity; the Robertson-Walker metric [Ch 8, A1] Basic kinematic properties: distance-redshift, time-redshift, age, angular sizes [A2]
The Planck mass; the ugliest number in physics Thermodynamics of Fermi and Bose gases in an expanding universe The longest 3 minutes of your life Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: helium, deuterium, lithium, baryon-to-photon ratio [Ch 12] Evidence for dark matter [Ch 9] Evidence for dark energy Two dark matter problems: baryonic vs non-baryonic What can they be? Gravitational instability in a static universe Gravitational instability in an expanding universe Growth of cosmic structures Photon-baryon scattering physics; the cosmic microwave background [Ch 10, A5] Successes of the standard Big Bang model [Ch 11] Problems of the standard Big Bang model [Ch 13] How to fix it? Inflation Supermassive black holes at centers of galaxies 6.2 Gravity waves: sources: binary black holes Gravity waves: detection Selected Topics (student presentations) 
