In recent years an enormous amount of cosmological data has come from well known projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). This book explains and makes sense of this vast array of new observational data in terms of its impact on current cosmological models. With new theories and a plethora of data feeding cosmology in the 1990s, Gregory Bothun sets about the task of re- assessing our cosmological models. He outlines exactly what the latest observations are, and how they should be seen as either consistent or in conflict with current cosmogenic scenarios. In this search for a reconciliation of current data with competing theory, he explains how Einstein's idea of a cosmological constant has now become a viable hypothesis. This authoritative text should be valuable to all those studying cosmological observations at advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level. Bothun draws a path through cosmology by defining a trajectory that is based on the data. This should also provide a framework for professional cosmologists and related readers in physics as it presents a solid observational foundation which either supports or conflicts with present theory. The book is illustrated including many CCD images of galaxies. Given the rapidly changing nature of the field, this book is supported by a World Wide Web site of supplementary material that is designed to readily update the material in the book.
Providing a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of observational cosmology, this advanced undergraduate textbook enables students to use quantitative physical methods to understand the Universe. The textbook covers recent developments such as precision cosmology and the concordance cosmological model, inflation, gravitational lensing, the extragalactic far-infrared and X-ray backgrounds, downsizing and baryon wiggles. It also explores the future missions and facilities likely to dominate cosmological research in the future, including radio, X-ray, submillimeter-wave and gravitational wave astronomy. Each chapter contains full-color figures, worked examples and exercises with complete solutions. Clearly identified key facts and equations help students easily locate important information. Suggestions for further reading provide jumping-off points for students aiming to further their studies. Reflecting decades of Open University experience in undergraduate teaching, this textbook brings students to the forefront of the rapidly developing field of observational cosmology. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.
An advanced text for senior undergraduates, graduate students and physical scientists in fields outside cosmology. This is a self-contained book focusing on the linear theory of the evolution of density perturbations in the universe, and the anisotropiesin the cosmic microwave background.
Recent discoveries in astronomy have revolutionized the field of cosmology. While many long-standing questions in cosmology have now been answered, the new data pose new mysteries such as the nature of the "dark energy" that dominates the universe. This second edition provides an accessible and thorough text on the physics of cosmology and a lively account of the modern concordance model of the universe, from the big bang to a distant future dominated by dark energy.
Modern cosmology aims to determine the origin, evolution, and ultimate fate of the Universe. This is an area of modern science that has engendered fierce debates which have captured public interest. This book recounts the development of modern cosmology, in chapters contributed by many of the leading protagonists. It is a fascinating account of physical and observational cosmology, the great cosmological debates, important observations and the riddle of dark matter. The enormous controversy surrounding the Big Bang theory is retold in personal recollections from H. Bondi, W. McCrea, and Fred Hoyle. This is followed by chapters on the discovery of cosmic radio waves and the contributions made by radio astronomers to current cosmology. The book concludes with a tribute to some of the pioneers of cosmology.
Cosmology is a relatively new science, but cosmological questions are as old as mankind. Turning philosophical and metaphysical problems into problems that physics can treat, and hopefully solve, has been an achievement of the twentieth century. Modern Cosmology brings together contributions from a number of outstanding scientists currently working
An Introduction to Modern Cosmology Third Edition is an accessible account of modern cosmological ideas. The Big Bang Cosmology is explored, looking at its observational successes in explaining the expansion of the Universe, the existence and properties of the cosmic microwave background, and the origin of light elements in the universe. Properties of the very early Universe are also covered, including the motivation for a rapid period of expansion known as cosmological inflation. The third edition brings this established undergraduate textbook up-to-date with the rapidly evolving observational situation. This fully revised edition of a bestseller takes an approach which is grounded in physics with a logical flow of chapters leading the reader from basic ideas of the expansion described by the Friedman equations to some of the more advanced ideas about the early universe. It also incorporates up-to-date results from the Planck mission, which imaged the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation over the whole sky. The Advanced Topic sections present subjects with more detailed mathematical approaches to give greater depth to discussions. Student problems with hints for solving them and numerical answers are embedded in the chapters to facilitate the reader’s understanding and learning. Cosmology is now part of the core in many degree programs. This current, clear and concise introductory text is relevant to a wide range of astronomy programs worldwide and is essential reading for undergraduates and Masters students, as well as anyone starting research in cosmology. The accompanying website for this text, http://booksupport.wiley.com, provides additional material designed to enhance your learning, as well as errata within the text.
Inflationary cosmology has been developed over the last twenty years to remedy serious shortcomings in the standard hot big bang model of the universe. This textbook, first published in 2005, explains the basis of modern cosmology and shows where the theoretical results come from. The book is divided into two parts; the first deals with the homogeneous and isotropic model of the Universe, the second part discusses how inhomogeneities can explain its structure. Established material such as the inflation and quantum cosmological perturbation are presented in great detail, however the reader is brought to the frontiers of current cosmological research by the discussion of more speculative ideas. An ideal textbook for both advanced students of physics and astrophysics, all of the necessary background material is included in every chapter and no prior knowledge of general relativity and quantum field theory is assumed.
A new look at the first few seconds after the Big Bang—and how research into these moments continues to revolutionize our understanding of our universe Scientists in the past few decades have made crucial discoveries about how our cosmos evolved over the past 13.8 billion years. But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: we still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history. Delving into the remarkable science of cosmology, Dan Hooper describes many of the extraordinary and perplexing questions that scientists are asking about the origin and nature of our world. Hooper examines how we are using the Large Hadron Collider and other experiments to re-create the conditions of the Big Bang and test promising theories for how and why our universe came to contain so much matter and so little antimatter. We may be poised to finally discover how dark matter was formed during our universe’s first moments, and, with new telescopes, we are also lifting the veil on the era of cosmic inflation, which led to the creation of our world as we know it. Wrestling with the mysteries surrounding the initial moments that followed the Big Bang, At the Edge of Time presents an accessible investigation of our universe and its origin.