PHY663: Relativistic cosmology and the early universe

        [Cr:4, Lc:3, Tt:1, Lb:0]

Knowledge of the content of PHY635 is essential to follow this course.

Course Outline

• Expansion of the Universe, Friedman-Robertson-Walker-Lemaitre model, Geodesics and Distance, geodesic deviation, Standard candles and Standard Rulers.
• Standard cosmological model: radiation dominated era, matter domination, dark energy and accelerated expansion. Horizon problem, flatness problem. Inflationary paradigm.
• Thermal history of the universe, primordial nucleosynthesis, decoupling of neutrinos, weakly interact- ing massive particles, electron-positron annihilation, matter radiation decoupling, last scattering surface, cosmic microwave background radiation.
• Scalar fields in an expanding universe. Generation of perturbations in inflation, Tensor and Scalar per- turbations, Reheating.
• Perturbations in an expanding universe. relativistic perturbation theory, growth of perturbations in dif- ferent scenarios. Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation. Transfer Functions, Baryon Acoustic oscillations,
• Sachs-Wolfe and Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect, Silk damping, The observed fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation and its relation with Cosmological Parameters, Observational constraints.
• Late time perturbations, geometric effects, redshift space distortions.

Recommended Reading

• T. Padmanabhan, Theoretical Astrophysics, Vol.III: Galaxies and Cosmology, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• S. Weinberg, Cosmology, Oxford University Press, 2008.
• Ruth Durrer, The cosmic microwave background, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
• Scott Dodelson, Modern Cosmology,Elsevier, 2005.