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UN3602: Physical Cosmology
Instructor: Zoltan Haiman
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Classes are held Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:10-11:25am in 415 Schapiro. In case you need to join remotely, please email me for a Zoom link.ove
Office hours: Fridays, 11-12am (in Pupin 1326) or else by appointment.
Please email me with a heads-up if you plan to come to office hours, because there may be weeks I am away during the regular time slot.
This course provides an introduction to modern cosmology, giving an overview of both the theoretical framework, and of the key observations.
The emphasis will be on physical ideas, but we will use calculus and solve some simple differential equations.
No prior knowledge of cosmology will be assumed. However, you will get more out of this class if you have already taken one or two physics courses and are familiar with concepts in thermodynamics.
If you have questions about the appropriate level of pre-requisites, please ask me.
See the official Course Bulletin Entry for further details.
1. Provide you with conceptual foundations of modern cosmology. 2. Enable you to appreciate recent discoveries by understanding their context.
1. The main source for the course will be "Introduction to Cosmology" by Barbara Ryden (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2017).
This textbook is required.
2. We will occassionally use other books and materials. Additional books are
** "An Introduction to Modern Cosmology" by Andrew Liddle (Wiley, 2003). Similar to Ryden, but more condensed.
** "Galaxy Formation and Evolution" by Houjun Mo, Frank van den Bosch and Simon White (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Goes beyond Ryden to cover the growth of perturbations, and galaxy formation.
** "Structure Formation in the Universe" by T. Padmanabhan (Cambridge University Press, 1995). An earlier book with good coverage of the growth of perturbations.
** "The Early Universe" by E. W. Kolb and M. S. Turner (Addison-Wesley, 1993). Useful for more rigorous treatment of thermodynamics, and covers topics in the early universe such as inflation or big bang nucleosynthesis, at an advanced graduate student level.
** "An Introduction to Cosmology" by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (Cambridge University Press, 2002). This book has a particularly nice concise chapter on the relevant bits of general relativity.
** "Spacetime and Geometry" by Sean M. Carroll (Addison-Wesley, 2004). A more advanced book basing the discussion of cosmology on general relativity.
If you wish, you can purchase some of these books as well, but they are not required.
Copies of any material used from these books will be made available as appropriate.
3. The above books have been placed on reserve at Science and Engineering Library
(in the Northwest Corner Building next to Pupin), and are available at the University bookstore,
and/or also on amazon.com and on bn.com.
4. This website will be maintained and updated during the semester.
Presentations from some of the lectures will be posted at this site, as well as copies of the problem sets.
The reading assigments are tentative, and will be continuously updated on the website as we go along.
Problems Sets (35%): Approximately six problem sets will be handed out (see tentative schedule below) Final Exam (30%): In-class, closed book exam. Midterm (20%): An hour exam during class, tentatively on Wednesday, November 3. Class Participation (15%): Please attend regularly and think of questions to ask in class.
You are encouraged to work together with other students on the problem sets, but must present your own write-up.
I would greatly appreciate your feedback about all aspect of this class.
Your opinions can (really!) contribute to shaping this class.
Monday Wednesday
Week 1:
(9/13,15)Overview I: Census of the Extragalactic Universe
Reading: Ryden Ch. 1. and these slidesOverview II: Observations and the Standard Model of Cosmology
Reading: Ryden Ch. 2. and these slidesWeek 2:
(9/20,22)Newtonian Gravity: Derivation of the Friedmann Equation
Reading: Ryden Ch. 4.2 [PS #1 handed out]The Fluid Equation and Equations of State
Reading: Ryden Ch. 4.3 & 4.4Week 3:
(9/27,29)Cosmological Models I: Single-Component Universes
Reading: Ryden Ch. 5.1-5.3Cosmological Models I: Single-Component Universes (cont'd)
Reading: Ryden Ch. 5.1-5.3 [PS #1 due]Week 4:
(10/4,6)Cosmological Models II: Multi-Component Universes
Reading: Ryden Ch. 5.4 and 5.5 [PS #2 handed out]Cosmological Models III: Lambda as Dark Energy
Reading: Ryden Ch. 4.5Week 5:
(10/11,13)Introduction to General Relativity
Reading: Ryden Ch. 3.1-3.3 [optional: Einstein's 1916 article]Relativity and the FRW metric
Reading: Ryden Ch. Ch. 3.4-3.6 and 4.1 [PS #2 due]Week 6:
(10/18,20)Relativity and the FRW metric (cont'd)
Reading: Ryden Ch. Ch. 3.4-3.6 and 4.1 [PS #3 handed out]Distances in the FRW metric
Reading: Ryden Ch. 6.2, 6.3Week 7:
(10/25,27)Dark Matter
Reading: Ryden Ch. 7Dark Energy and Modern Tests of the Cosmological Model
Reading: Dark Energy Task Force Report [PS #3 due]Week 8:
(11/1,3)No class - Election Day
MIDTERM EXAM
[review sheet]Week 9:
(11/8,10)Cosmic Microwave Background I. Recombination
Reading: Ryden Ch. 8.1-8.3 [PS #4 handed out]Cosmic Microwave Background II. Anisotropies
Reading: Ryden Ch. 8.4-8.5Week 10:
(11/15,17)Early Universe: Nucleosynthesis I.
Reading: Ryden Ch. 9.1-9.2Early Universe: Nucleosynthesis II.
Reading: Ryden Ch. 9.3-9.5 [PS #4 due] [PS #5 handed out]Week 11:
(11/22,24)Early Universe: Inflation I: Puzzles
Reading: Ryden Ch. 10.1-10.3No class - Thanksgiving
Week 12:
(11/29, 12/1)Early Universe: Inflation II: Solutions
Reading: Ryden Ch. 10.4-10.5Early Universe: Inflation III: Physics
Reading: Ryden Ch. 10.5 [PS #5 due] [PS #6 handed out]Week 13:
(12/6,8)Structure Formation
Reading: Ryden Ch. 11.1 and 11.3Structure Formation
Reading: Ryden Ch. 11.2 and 11.4 (optional: 11.5 and 11.6)Week 14:
(12/13)Non-Linear Structure Formation: Dark Matter Halos and Galaxies
Reading: Ryden Ch. 12 [PS #6 due]Week 15:
(12/14-23)FINAL EXAM
to be scheduled by registrar, currently projected for 9am-12 noon on Friday Dec.22 [review sheet]