Subject: Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation and Large Scale Structure of the Universe.PhD Program of the Department of Theoretical Physics, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and Astronomy Department, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. |
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Program
- The Homogeneous Universe: Friedmann equations. Cosmological parameters: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Cosmological Constant. Angular and Luminosity distances. Brief history of the Universe. Limitations of the Big-Bang Model: horizon and flatness problem.
- The Inflation Paradigm: The cosmological constant problem. Scalar fields in Cosmology. Slow Roll Inflation. Solution of the horizon and flatness problems. Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of inflation. Reheating.
- The Inhomogeneous Universe: Matter distribution in the Universe. Density Contrast. Matter denstiy power spectrum and correlation function. Galaxy catalogues: normalization of the matter power spectrum.
- Structure Formation: Gaussian perturbations. Density perturbations: Newtonian treatment. Peculiar velocities and peculiar gravity. Equations of evolution of matter density perturbations. Evolution during the dark matter and dark energy dominated periods. The baryon density contrast: newtonian treatment.
- The Harrison-Zeldovich Power Spectrum: Scale invariance at horizon entry. From Horizon-entry to galaxy formation. The Harrison-Zeldovich Power Spectrum. Initial conditions: Adiabatic and Isocurvature density perturbations. The spectral index and its running.
- The Cosmic Microwave Background: The Cosmic Microwave Background Ratiation. Recombination and Decoupling: Last Scattering Surface. Temperature anisotropies: the Dipole. Multipoles. The Sachs-Wolfe formalism. The power spectrum of the CMB temperature anisotropies. Observational results: COBE and WMAP. Constraints on inflation.
- Other observational tests: The Hubble diagram from SNIa. Peculiar Velocities. Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. The Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect: thermal and kinematic. Cross-correlation of galaxy catalogs and CMB maps.
- Cosmology. P. Coles, F. Lucchin. John Wiley (2002); 2nd Edition.
- Modern Cosmology. S. Dodelson. Academic Press (2003).
- Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure. A.R. Liddle and D.H. Lyth. Cambridge U.P. (2000).
- The Early Universe. E. Kolb and T. Turner Addison-Wesley (1990).
- Physical Foundations of Cosmology. V. Mukhanov. Cambridge U.P. (2005).
- Structure Formation in the Universe. T. Padmanabhan. Cambridge U.P. (1993)
- Cosmological Physics. J.A. Peacock. Cambridge U.P. (1998).
- Large Scale Structure of the Universe. P.J.E. Peebles. Princeton U.P. (1980).
Grades
| For the student to pass, it will be required to solve the problemsposed by the teachers in class. Those solutions will make up to 30% of the final grade. 40% will come from solving the more advanced problem sheet and 30% from discussing one recent article from the astro-ph data base. |
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers,
having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and
that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed
law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful
and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.
Charles Darwin: "On the Origin of Species"
