PHYS40772: Early Universe

Lecturer: Jeff Forshaw

Problem sheets:

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

Sheet 1 - solutions

Sheet 2 - solutions

Sheet 3 - solutions

Reviews:

Review of FRW Universe

Review of natural units

Additional material:

The history of the Universe

Relating the angular power spectrum to the two-point correlation function

Series solution for small perturbations

Numerical solution for the growth of perturbations

CMB plots

Recommend textbooks:

Weinberg, S., Cosmology (OUP)

Mukhanov, V., Physical Foundations of Cosmology (CUP)

Peacock, J., Cosmological Physics (CUP)

Liddle, A. & Lyth, D.H., Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure (CUP)

Liddle, A. & Lyth, D.H., The Primordial Density Perturbation (CUP)

Kolb, E.W. & Turner, M.S., The Early Universe (Addison-Wesley)

Dodelson, S., Modern Cosmology (Academic Press)

Vilenkin, A. & Shellard, E.P.S,. Cosmic Strings and other Topological Defects (CUP)

The books by Weinberg, Mukhanov and Vilenkin & Shellard cover everything in more than sufficient detail but they are pretty advanced texts.

Acknowledgement:

With thanks to Richard Battye, from whom much of this material originates.