Observational Cosmology

A comprehensive and up-to-date treatment, this advanced undergraduate textbook enables students to use quantitative physical methods to understand the Universe.

Stephen Serjeant (Author)

9780521157155, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 September 2010

324 pages, 60 colour illus. 50 exercises
26.4 x 21.1 x 2 cm, 0.84 kg

'… a very modern textbook … richly illustrated in full colour throughout … very well written and easy to understand even if the topic is difficult … The quality of the paper, the print, and the book as a whole is excellent … can be recommended without restraint to advanced undergraduates as well as to experts … an up-to-date reference in observational cosmology.' Contemporary Physics

Providing a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of observational cosmology, this advanced undergraduate textbook enables students to use quantitative physical methods to understand the Universe. The textbook covers recent developments such as precision cosmology and the concordance cosmological model, inflation, gravitational lensing, the extragalactic far-infrared and X-ray backgrounds, downsizing and baryon wiggles. It also explores the future missions and facilities likely to dominate cosmological research in the future, including radio, X-ray, submillimetre-wave and gravitational wave astronomy. Each chapter contains full-colour figures, worked examples and exercises with complete solutions. Clearly identified key facts and equations help students easily locate important information. Suggestions for further reading provide jumping-off points for students aiming to further their studies. Reflecting decades of Open University experience in undergraduate teaching, this textbook brings students to the forefront of the rapidly developing field of observational cosmology. Accompanying resources to this textbook are available at: http://www.cambridge.org/features/astrophysics.

1. Space and time
2. The cosmic microwave background
3. The local Universe
4. The distant optical Universe
5. The distant multiwavelength Universe
6. Black holes
7. Gravitational lensing
8. The intervening Universe
Epilogue
Appendices
Solutions
Index.

Subject Areas: Relativity physics [PHR], Gravity [PHDV], Cosmology & the universe [PGK]