Admission requirements
BSc courses Galaxies and Cosmology (Sterrenstelsels en Kosmologie) and Radiative Processes (Stralingsprocessen). General Relativity is not a prerequisite for this course.
Description
This course is an introduction to modern cosmology. It will cover the theory of relativistic cosmology (Friedman eqns, hot big bang, nucleosynthesis, cosmic background radiation, dark matter and dark energy). Only the basics of structure formation will be covered, these will be treated in detail in the course on Large Scale Structure & Galaxy Formation. Throughout, both the theory and observational tests will be covered.
Course objectives
The student will gain a thourough understanding of the main concepts of cosmology that have been developed over the past century and which open questions remain, which will allow them to understand the scientific literature on this topic.
Timetable
See MSc Schedule
Mode of instruction
Lectures.
Assessment method
Written exam.
Blackboard
No.
Reading list
Optional, not required because the lecture notes will be made available as well:
“An Introduction to Modern Cosmology” by Andrew Liddle (2nd edition). This book provides a basic introduction to cosmology, but lacks some of the depth.
Somewhat more substantial is “Introduction to Cosmology” by Barbara Ryden.
Finally the more advanced topics are discussed in “Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Structure” by Peter Coles and Francesco Lucchin (2nd edition).
Registration
Via uSis
More information about signing up for your classes at the Faculty of Science can be found here
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Prospective students website for information on how to apply.
Contact information
Lecturer: Dr. H. (Henk) Hoekstra
Assistant: Allison Hill, MSc
Remarks
None.