Advanced Cosmology (U03215)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : PHY-5-AdvCosm

This course is intended to present the current understanding of some of the main topics in cosmology, at a sufficiently high level that it allows a contact with the research literature. The focus will be on the development of structure in the universe, and how this can be related to cosmological initial conditions and exotic physical processes that operate at early times and energies. The course will be self-contained, but builds on the material covered in Astrophysical Cosmology; prior attendance at this course is strongly recommended.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Co-requisites : Astrophysical Cosmology U01402 PHY-4-AstCosm (TBC)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Undergraduate (School of Physics), (School of Physics, Schedule Q)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 5th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
08/01/2008	15:00	16:00			ROE Lecture Theatre

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	15:00	15:50	Other
Lecture	Friday	15:00	15:50	Other

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

(1) Be able to calculate the ionization history of the universe, and understand why this is a non-equilibrium process
(2) Be able to calculate the relic abundance of elementary particles
(3) Understand how the abundance of light elements can be used to measure the density of baryonic matter
(4) Understand how a scalar field can yield a pressure and density for the vacuum
(5) Apply this concept to discuss in detail inflationary models for the start of the expanding universe
(6) Be able to calculate the spectrum of density perturbations that is seeded by quantum fluctuations during inflation
(7) Be able to derive and solve the differential equations describing the growth of these fluctuations
(8) Understand the dependence of the late-time density power spectrum on cosmological parameters
(9) Know the mechanisms that generate anisotropies in the microwave background, and be able to calculate these in the fluid limit
(10) Explain qualitatively the contribution of primordial
gravity waves to these anisotopies
(11) Calculate the gravitational lens effect of an arbitrary mass distribution, and understand how this is used to probe the large-scale density field
(12) Be able to discuss the main physical processes of importance in galaxy formation
(13) Formulate Bayesian reasoning concerning the impact of observational selection on cosmological observables.