WMAP sky image

Fall 2012: ASTR 5770 (Cosmology)
 

Instructor: Professor Michael Shull

Class Meeting Times: MWF (9:00 - 9:50 am) Duane E126
(APS Graduate Classroom next to TA Office)

Final: Monday Dec. 17 (1:30-4:00 pm)

Course information

Instructor Contact Information

ASTR 5770 is a graduate astrophysics-disciplinary course, covering the origin, evolution, and structure of the Universe. Designed for APS and Physics graduate students, this class requires a solid undergraduate background in physics and mathematics. We will begin by discussing standard theories for how the Universe began. We will then discuss recent topics of modern cosmology, including quantitative measures of large-scale structure, parameter estimation for the cosmic expansion rate, mass-energy content, properties of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, and inflation. The latter part of the course will be devoted to applications to galaxy formation, clusters of galaxies, the CMB, intergalactic matter, reionization, and metal evolution.