Cosmology
Cosmology (Winter 2009, Stanford Univ.). Instructor: Professor Leonard Susskind. This course of the Theoretical Minimum series will concentrate on cosmology, the science of the origin and development of the universe. Along the way, students will take a close look at the Big Bang, the geometry of space-time, inflationary cosmology, cosmic microwave background, dark matter, dark energy, the anthropic principle, and the string theory landscape. (from theoreticalminimum.com)
| Lecture 1 - Geometry of the expanding universe Cosmology from the perspective of geometry, The idea of expanding space, The concepts behind Hubble's law, The idea of space, The metric of space. |
| Lecture 2 - Newtonian and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology Newtonian cosmology, The Friedman- Robertson-Walker (FRW) equations, flat space, Hubble's law and constant, dark energy. |
| Lecture 3 - Structure of the universe The basic equations of cosmology, Structure of the universe, Expansion radiation, Dark matter. |
| Lecture 4 - Background microwave radiation Background microwave radiation, Doppler shifting, Susskind's inflation model, General theory of relativity of expanding space-time, Cosmic horizon, Vacuum energy. |
| Lecture 5 - Cosmological curvature Mathematics of spheres, General concept of curvature and cosmology of a spherical universe, The connection of the equations of cosmology and the general theory of relatively. |
| Lecture 6 - Surface of last scattering Manifestation of the Universe, How the early universe was hot, X-ray photons, Surface of last scattering, Neutron decay, Neutron stars. |
| Lecture 7 - Cosmological inflation Inflation, A cosmological constant and Einstein's equations, FRW Lemaitre equation, Energy density, Vacuum energy, Surface of last scattering, Microwave background radiation, Primordial fluctuations. |
| Lecture 8 - Big omega How the geometry of space gets measured, Big omega, FRW equations, The primordial universe, The process of gravitation's inhomogeneity, The cosmological constant. |
| References |
| Cosmology (Winter, 2009) | The Theoretical Minimum This course of the Theoretical Minimum series will concentrate on cosmology, the science of the origin and development of the universe. |