An Introduction to the Science of Cosmology (Paperback, 2nd)

Preface

RECONSTRUCTING TIME
The patterns of the stars
Structural relics
Material relics
Ethereal relics
Cosmological principles
Theories
Problems

EXPANSION
The redshift
The expanding universe
The distance scale
The Hubble constant
The deceleration parameter
The age of the universe
The steady state theory
The evolving universe
Problems

MATTER
The mean mass density of the universe
Determining the matter density
The mean luminosity density
The mass to luminosity ratios of galaxies
The virial theorem
The mass to luminosity ratios of rich clusters
Baryonic matter
Intracluster gas
The gravitational lensing method
The intercluster medium
The non-baryonic dark matter
Dark matter candidates
The search for WIMPS
Antimatter
Appendix A: Derivation of the virial theorem
Problems

RADIATION
Sources of background radiation
The microwave background
The hot big bang
Radiation and expansion
Nevertheless it moves
The x-ray background
Problems

RELATIVITY
Introduction
Space geometry
Relativistic geometry
Isotropic and homogeneous geometry
Other forms of the metric
Open and closed spaces
Fundamental (or comoving) observers
Redshift
The velocity-distance law
Time dilation
The field equations
The dust universe
The relationship between redshift and time
Explicit solutions
Models with a cosmological constant
The radiation universe
Light propagation in an expanding universe
The Hubble sphere
The particle horizon
Alternative equations of state
Problems

MODELS
The classical tests
The Mattig relation
The angular diameter - redshift test
The apparent magnitude - redshift test
The geometry of number counts: theory
The timescale test
The lensed quasar test
Problems with big bang cosmology
The flatness problem
Alternative cosmologies
Problems

HOT BIG BANG
Introduction
Equilibrium thermodynamics
The plasma universe
The matter era
The radiation era
The era of equilibrium
The GUT era: baryogenesis
Photon to baryon ratio
Nucleosynthesis
The plasma era
Decoupling
Recombination
Last scattering
Perturbations
Appendix A: Thermal distributions
Appendix B: The Saha Equation
Appendix C: Constancy of ?
Problems

INFLATION
The horizon problem
The flatness problem
Origin of structure
Mechanisms
Fluctuations
Starting Inflation
Stopping inflation
Topological defects
Problems

STRUCTURE
The problem of structure
Observations
Surveys and catalogues
Large scale structures
Correlations
Bias
Growth of perturbations
The Jeans' mass
Adiabatic perturbations
Isocurvature (isothermal) perturbations
Superhorizon size perturbations
Dissipation
The spectrum of fluctuations
Structure formation in baryonic models
Dark matter models
Observations of the microwave background
Appendix A
Appendix B
Problems

EPILOGUE
Homogeneous anisotropy
Growing modes
The rotating universe
The arrow of time

REFERENCE MATERIAL
REFERENCES