Year:11/12
Department:Physics
Level:Part II (yr 3)
Learning Hours:100
Credit Points:10
Weight:0.33
Course Convenor:Dr K Dimopoulos
Status:Live
Syllabus Rules
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Prior to PHYS361, the student must have successfully completed:
Assessment Rules
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Curriculum Design: Outline Syllabus
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The global dynamics of the Universe. The Friedmann equation. Energy conservation and acceleration equations. The constituents of the Universe content and their evolution with time.
The early Universe. Thermal equilibrium. Decoupling of relics. The cosmic microwave background (CMB). Monopole and dipole moments of the CMB. Neutrino decoupling.
The radiation era of the Hot Big Bang. Adiabatic expansion and the timescale. The formation of the first nuclei one second after the Big Bang. Matter-antimatter annihilation. The mystery of the baryon asymmetry.
Thermal history of the Hot Big Bang cosmology. Phase transitions in the early Universe. The formation of nucleons. The emergence of electromagnetism. The breaking of grand unification.
Cosmic Inflation and the solution of the horizon and flatness problems of Big Bang cosmology. How inflation can provide the source for the formation of structures (e.g. galaxies) in the Universe. Primordial temperature anisotropy in the CMB and structure formation.
The formation of large-scale structure (galactic clusters and super-clusters) in the Universe.
Educational Aims: Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
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To provide an understanding of modern cosmology, including the areas where our understanding is still incomplete.
Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
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On completion of this module the student will:
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be aware of our current understanding of the observed Universe and the early Universe.
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be able to write down some of the equations that encode this understanding.
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be able to follow new developments at the level of journals like Nature and Scientific American.
Curriculum Design: Select Bibliography
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(E) M Roos, Introduction to Cosmology, John Wiley, 3rd ed
(E) A Liddle, An Introduction to Modern Cosmology, Wiley, 2nd ed
Also available in the University library are:
(R) M Berry, Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation, CUP.
(R) M Lachieze-Rey and E Gunzig, The Cosmological Background Radiation, CUP.
(R) A R Liddle and D H Lyth, Cosmological Inflation and Large Scale Structure, CUP
