Cosmology Course

Lesson 1 • Observational Evidence for the Big Bang

Presents the three pillars of Big Bang evidence: cosmic expansion, light element abundances, and the cosmic microwave background. Links observations to theoretical predictions.

Lesson 2 • What Cosmology Studies

Defines cosmology's scope, distinguishing it from astronomy and astrophysics. Grounds students in the questions cosmology seeks to answer about origin, structure, and fate.

Lesson 3 • History of Cosmological Thought

Traces ideas from ancient cosmologies through the Copernican revolution to 20th-century breakthroughs. Shows how paradigm shifts shaped the modern scientific framework.

Lesson 1 • Relativistic Redshift and Light Propagation

Distinguishes gravitational redshift from cosmological redshift and Doppler shift. Prepares students to interpret spectroscopic observations correctly.

Lesson 2 • Curved Spacetime and Gravity

Introduces general relativity as a geometric theory of gravity. Students understand how mass-energy curves spacetime and how this drives cosmic dynamics.

Lesson 3 • Einstein Field Equations Overview

Presents the structure and physical meaning of Einstein's field equations without full tensor derivation. Connects stress-energy content to spacetime geometry.

Lesson 1 • Friedmann and Fluid Equations

Presents the Friedmann equations governing expansion rate and the fluid equation governing energy density evolution. Students identify how each component drives or resists expansion.

Lesson 2 • Cosmic Expansion Histories

Solves Friedmann equations for matter-, radiation-, and vacuum-dominated universes. Students compare expansion rates and identify the current concordance model.

Lesson 3 • Cosmological Parameters and Measurements

Defines the key parameters describing our universe and surveys methods used to measure them. Connects theoretical quantities to observational campaigns.

Lesson 4 • The FLRW Metric

Derives the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric as the unique solution consistent with cosmic symmetry. Introduces the scale factor as the key dynamic variable.

Lesson 1 • Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Explains the formation of light nuclei in the first minutes and the predicted primordial abundances. Demonstrates how BBN provides a precision test of the standard model.

Lesson 2 • Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

Characterizes the CMB spectrum, temperature, and anisotropies as a snapshot of the early universe. Introduces the power spectrum as the primary data product.

Lesson 3 • Particle Physics in the Early Universe

Surveys the particle content of the universe at high temperatures and the sequence of annihilation events. Links the Standard Model of particle physics to cosmological evolution.

Lesson 4 • Early Universe Thermodynamics

Establishes the relationship between temperature, energy density, and scale factor in the early universe. Introduces the concept of thermal equilibrium and its breakdown.

Lesson 1 • Quantum Fluctuations and Primordial Spectra

Explains how quantum vacuum fluctuations of the inflaton are stretched to macroscopic scales. Derives the nearly scale-invariant power spectrum of primordial perturbations.

Lesson 2 • Beyond Single-Field Inflation

Surveys multi-field inflation, curvaton, and ekpyrotic alternatives. Highlights how different models produce distinct observational signatures.

Lesson 3 • Observational Tests of Inflation

Connects inflationary predictions to CMB anisotropy measurements and large-scale structure surveys. Evaluates which inflationary models remain viable after current data.

Lesson 4 • Problems Motivating Inflation

Identifies the horizon, flatness, and magnetic monopole problems that standard Big Bang cosmology cannot resolve. Motivates the need for a period of accelerated early expansion.

Lesson 1 • Alternative Gravity Theories

Introduces modified gravity approaches such as MOND as alternatives to particle dark matter. Evaluates their successes and failures against cosmological data.

Lesson 2 • Particle Dark Matter Candidates

Reviews WIMPs, axions, sterile neutrinos, and other particle candidates. Evaluates each candidate's theoretical motivation and detection prospects.

Lesson 3 • Dark Matter Detection Strategies

Covers direct detection, indirect detection, and collider searches for dark matter. Assesses current experimental limits and future prospects.

Lesson 4 • Properties Required of Dark Matter

Derives the physical properties dark matter must have to match observations. Distinguishes hot, warm, and cold dark matter and their structural consequences.

Lesson 1 • Probes of Dark Energy

Covers baryon acoustic oscillations, weak lensing, and galaxy clustering as dark energy probes. Explains how each constrains the expansion history and growth of structure.

Lesson 2 • Discovery of Cosmic Acceleration

Recounts the supernova observations that revealed accelerated expansion and their implications. Establishes the need for a new energy component dominating the universe today.

Lesson 3 • Dynamical Dark Energy Models

Surveys quintessence, phantom fields, and other dynamical scalar field models. Compares their predictions for w(z) evolution against observational data.

Lesson 4 • Modified Gravity as Dark Energy Alternative

Examines f(R) gravity and other modified gravity theories that mimic dark energy. Distinguishes their predictions from those of the cosmological constant.

Lesson 1 • Matter Power Spectrum

Defines the matter power spectrum and explains how it encodes the statistical distribution of density fluctuations. Connects it to the primordial spectrum via the transfer function.

Lesson 2 • Observational Surveys and Cosmological Inference

Reviews major galaxy redshift surveys and their role in measuring cosmological parameters. Explains statistical tools used to extract cosmological information from survey data.

Lesson 3 • Galaxy Formation and Feedback

Outlines how baryons cool and condense within dark matter halos to form galaxies. Covers stellar and AGN feedback as regulators of star formation.

Lesson 4 • Nonlinear Collapse and Halo Formation

Presents the spherical collapse model and Press-Schechter formalism for halo abundance. Introduces N-body simulations as the tool for nonlinear structure formation.

Lesson 5 • The Cosmic Web

Describes the filamentary large-scale structure of the universe and its formation through gravitational dynamics. Connects simulations to observed galaxy surveys.