An Introduction to Cosmology

Fully updated edition of the successful introductory graduate textbook on modern cosmology.

J. V. Narlikar (Author)

9780521793766, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 10 January 2002

560 pages, 202 b/w illus.
24.7 x 17.5 x 2.8 cm, 1.245 kg

'The student can gain some early practice by looking at the examples presented here. They will also obtain a rigorous overview of the present observational data that will need to be incorporated into any model that wishes to displace present big bang cosmology.' Contemporary Physics

The third edition of this successful textbook is fully updated and includes important recent developments in cosmology. It begins with an introduction to cosmology and general relativity, and goes on to cover the mathematical models of standard cosmology. The physical aspects of cosmology, including primordial nucleosynthesis, the astroparticle physics of inflation, and the current ideas on structure formation are discussed. Alternative models of cosmology are reviewed, including the model of Quasi-Steady State Cosmology, which has recently been proposed as an alternative to Big Bang Cosmology. The final chapters discuss observational cosmology, and debate theory versus observational methods. The book includes 400 problems and numerous worked examples. This introductory textbook describes modern cosmology at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduates who are familiar with mathematical methods and basic theoretical physics. It is intended for use on courses in theoretical physics, astrophysics or applied mathematics that include modern cosmology.

Foreword Sir Fred Hoyle
Preface to the first edition
Preface to the second edition
1. The large-scale structure of the universe
2. The general theory of relativity
3. From relativity to cosmology
4. The Friedman models
5. Relics of the Big Bang
6. The very early universe
7. The formation of large scale structure of the universe
8. Alternative cosmologies
9. Cosmologies with creation of matter
10. Observational tests of cosmological significance
11. Observations of distant parts of the universe
12. A critical overview of cosmology
Table of constants
Glossary.

Subject Areas: Educational: Sciences, general science [YQS], Cosmology & the universe [PGK]