Rutgers University Department of Physics and Astronomy
Cosmology
Physics 608, Spring 2009
This is a graduate-level course on the origin and evolution of the
Universe. Cosmology is a rich field of physics, drawing
from astrophysics, gravitation, particle physics, nuclear physics and thermodynamics.
The last decade has seen the development of a ``concordance''
(standard) model of
cosmology called Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM)
which explains a wide array of observed
phenomena and has successfully predicted the power spectra of
cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure.
This class will attempt to highlight the quality of the
current match between data and theory.
Professor: Eric Gawiser,
Serin 303W, 445-5500 x2733,
gawiser@physics.rutgers.edu
Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, period 4 (1:40 - 3:00 PM)
Location: ARC 110, Busch Campus
Office Hours: email or call or drop by to arrange a meeting
Text: Modern Cosmology, Scott Dodelson, Academic Press:
ISBN 978-0-12-219141-1, should be in stock at Rutgers Bookstore.
Lectures will mostly follow the text, so please bring it to class with you.
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.
Homework
I anticipate assigning 5 homework assignments during the term, each roughly covering 2 textbook chapters. These can be worked on individually or in groups but will be treated as scientific papers, so
each group should submit one version with an author list and proper citation and acknowledgments of resources used (both human and published).
The emphasis will be on developing
clear scientific writing that illustrates understanding
of fundamental cosmological concepts. The format should be to write in
LaTeX using
the templates available at the Author Instructions for the Physical Review or
the Astrophysical Journal and then submit a PDF file to me through Sakai.
Paper Presentations
In addition to the textbook, we will read 1-2 scientific papers per week to
get a sense of the rapid development of cosmology during the past century.
All students
are expected to read the papers, with one assigned to present the highlights
to the class. Each student is expected to present 2 papers over the course of
the semester. This will allow us to practice and improve oral presentation
skills. Since our classroom does not have an LCD projector, presenters should
bring a few copies of the paper to class with them to be shared by the audience.
Term Papers
Preliminary plan due on Thursday, March 12
Draft due on Tuesday, April 7
Final version due on Thursday, April 30
Class presentations will occur the final week of April.
Each student needs to select a unique topic and clear it with me
well before the preliminary plan is due -- first come, first
served. Some possible topics are: evidence for dark matter, evidence
for dark energy, inflationary models, limits on the size of the universe,
evidence for non-gaussianity in the CMB anisotropies, gamma
ray bursts, the DAMA results and their implications for supersymmetry,
a full explanation of the Boltzmann equation and its usage in predicting
CMB anisotropies, a full explanation of the gauge independence of CMB
anisotropies or large scale structure, the general relativity underpinnings
of the Friedmann equations,
the distribution of dark matter in dwarf spheroidal
galaxies, baryogenesis and the matter-antimatter asymmetry,
leptogenesis, the primordial abundances of
the light elements, the supermassive black hole - galaxy
relation, and estimates of the mass density of the universe.
Sakai Website
I will maintain a class website that can be accessed through
Sakai. Assignments will be announced,
submitted, and commented on through this website. It also provides a chat room
for archived discussion of course material outside of class and an online gradebook spreadsheet.
Supplemental Textbooks
In addition to the main textbook, I have placed several other useful Cosmology texts on reserve in the Physics Library in Serin. These will be useful for homework assignments and term papers. They are:
Peacock: Cosmological Physics
Padmanabhan: Structure Formation in the Universe
Kolb & Turner: The Early Universe
Liddle & Lyth: Cosmological Inflation and Large Scale Structure
Coles & Lucchin: Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Structure (2nd edition)
Weinberg: Cosmology
Weinberg: Gravitation and Cosmology
Peebles: Principles of Physical Cosmology
Peebles: The Large Scale Structure of the Universe
Durrer: The Cosmic Microwave Background
Ryden: Introduction to Cosmology
Longair: Galaxy Formation
Schneider: Extragalactic Astronomy & Cosmology
Grades
Students will be graded on a combination of effort, demonstrated improvement,
and mastery of the course material. A rough grade brakedown is 25% homeworks,
25% paper presentations and other class participation, and 50% for the term
paper and accompanying class presentation.
Students with Disabilities
Information is available here.
Please send any comments on this page to
gawiser@physics.rutgers.edu.
Last revised January 20, 2009
