Rutgers University Department of Physics and Astronomy
Cosmology
Ph 608 --- Spring 2006
This is a graduate-level course on the origin and evolution of the
Universe. As such, it is a big topic, employing a wide range of
physics, both theoretical and experimental. Cosmology has deep ties
both to astrophysics, as many cosmologically important observations of
celestial objects must be interpreted through the prism of
astrophysics, and to fundamental physics, since the form our Universe
displays is determined by gravitation, particle physics, nuclear
physics, and thermodynamics. These various physical processes have
come together into a simple ``concordance (or standard) model'' of
cosmology which predicts a wide and rich array of observable
phenomena.
This is an exciting time in cosmology. Technological advances over
the past decade have made possible an array of observations which
strongly constrains the properties of the Universe. The current job of
cosmologists is to determine if the deluge of observational data are
consistent with the standard cosmological model. While the bulk of the
data appears nicely consistent with the model, a few possible trouble
spots exist. This class will attempt to highlight the quality of the
current match between data and observation, and the extent to which the
model is internally consistent.
Professor: Tad Pryor,
Serin 302W, 445-5462,
pryor@physics.rutgers.edu
Lectures: Monday and Wednesday, period 4 (1:40 - 3:00 PM for
classes on Busch Campus)
Location: SEC 212, Busch Campus
Office Hours: call or email to arrange a meeting
Text: Cosmological Physics, J. A. Peacock, 1999, Cambridge
University Press
For more details on the course, see the
syllabus.
Figures -- Above Left: Intensity fluctuations on the sky as
measured by the Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe. Red is higher intensity and blue is
lower. Emission due to galactic foregrounds and a dipole variation due
to the Earth's peculiar velocity have been subtracted. Above Right:
The results of a simulation of the formation of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Yellow denotes the highest density of dark matter. Note the much
larger amount of substructure than we actually observe in the form of
satellite galaxies. From the
Cosmology and
Computational Astrophysics Group at the University of Zurich.
- Term Paper. Preliminary plan due on
Wednesday, March 8 and the written paper on Monday, April 17.
Everyone needs to select a unique topic and clear it with me
well before the preliminary plan is due -- first come, first
served. Topics already selected are: inflationary models, gamma
ray bursts, the distribution of dark matter in dwarf spheroidal
galaxies, baryogenesis, the primordial abundances of
the light elements, the supermassive black hole - galaxy
relation, and estimates of the mass density of the universe.
- Problem Set 1. Due February 8, 2006.
The first problem of this set needs some clarification. Calculate
the luminosity distance and the look-back time using the
"concordance" values of omega_mat=0.3, omega_v=0.7, and
H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc. You will have to do the integral for the luminosity
distance numerically.
- Problem Set 2. Due April 3, 2006. (I posted a
new version just after class on 3/20, which fixed a missing h-bar in
the equation for H in part 3(a).)
Supplementary Reading Material
- Distance Measures in Cosmology,
1999, D. W. Hogg,
(
astro-ph/9905116). A useful compilation of the various distances
and distance-dependent quantities in cosmology.
- Expanding
Confusion: Common Misconceptions of Cosmological Horizons and the
Superluminal Expansion of the Universe, 2003, PASA, 21, 97
(
astro-ph/0310808). A discussion of particle horizons and
event horizons pointed out to me by Rouven Essig.
-
Topology and the Microwave Background, 2002, Phys Rep, 365, 251
(
gr-qc/0108043). A clear, but lengthy, discussion of how the
CMB can be used to determine if the universe has a finite topology.
-
Papers on the WMAP 3-year data.
Please send any comments on this page to
pryor@physics.rutgers.edu.
Revised March 20, 2006
