Whittle Rodman Seminar

Cosmology

(1) Introduction

Themes:

A tour through the Universe, introducing many of its inhabitants (stars, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, the tapestry). Get an idea of relative sizes and timescales for objects and processes.

Class:

• Lecture Slides (pdf): B&W or COLOR

(2) Global Properties

Themes:

Outlining the global properties of the Universe: Isotropy, homogeneity, expansion, Hubble law. How we access cosmic history. The cosmic age. Helium synthesis. The five cosmic components. Expansion history.

Class:

• Lecture Slides (pdf): B&W or COLOR

(3) The First Million Years

Themes:

A fairly detailed summary of the properties of the Universe during its first million years. Topics include the Universe's density, temperature, pressure, radiation field, fogginess; and how all these things change with time. The ocurrence of sound waves, and how these are generated.

Class:

• Lecture Slides (pdf): B&W or COLOR

(4) The Growth of Structure

Themes:

How the first stars are born from gravitationally amplified sound waves. The succession of ever increasing structures: Stars, to galaxies, to clusters, to the tapestry. Each formation illustrated with movies.

Class:

• Lecture Slides (pdf): B&W or COLOR

(Suggested length: 2000 - 2500 words; Deadline: Dec 2 handed in to my mailbox in the Astronomy Department main office.)