Physics 262 (Winter 2009)

Early Universe Cosmology

Last changed 03/02/2009 12:48 PM

Please reserve Monday 3-4 as our PHY 262 makeup slot. It is the only available time! I will get back to you re which days we will actually use it and where we will meet. But in the mean time, please pencil it in for all future Mondays so we have the capability of all meeting at that time as needed.

Makeup lectures (all in 525P/G, 3:10-4pm, Mondays): Jan 26, Feb 2, Feb 23, Mar 2, Mar 9.

Normal lectures cancelled: Feb 4, Feb 13

Instructor: Andreas Albrecht Office hours: M 11-11:50am & Th 3:10-4pm

Reader: David Stancato stancato@physics.ucdavis.edu (please contact David directly with questions about grading).

Required Text: The Early Universe (Kolb and Turner) Addison Wesley

Other books that might be useful:

Introduction to Cosmology (B. Ryden) ISBN 0805389121 Much lower level and more accessible than K&T. Many students find going back and forth between this book and K&T very useful.
Cosmology (S. Weinberg) (Oxford University Press, USA) ISBN-10: 0198526822, ISBN-13: 978-0198526827. Excellent new text, which may replace K&T as the required text in future years. Student who expect to continue in cosmology will no doubt want their own copies.

Meeting time: WF 210-330 in 416 Phy/Geo

IMPORTANT: Please visit this site to help set up a designated makeup slot. This slot will be reserved on a weekly basis for any makeup lectures we may need to have. Please click the boxes when you *can* make it. The calendar shows only one week, but please fill it out with the whole quarter in mind. http://doodle.com/2rzqrew5sep9bcqs (Please ignore obviously incorrect "AM" notation on afternoon time slots.)

SCHEDULE CHANGES: There will be no class Jan 14 or 16. Makeup lectures will be scheduled.

Topics Covered: Big Bang Cosmology, Nucleosynthesis, Dark Matter, Dark Energy/Cosmic Acceleration, Cosmic Inflation. (Cosmic structure formation will be mentioned briefly, but that is mainly the domain of Phys 263)

Course Grade: Based entirely on homework.

Homework: Homework will normally be assigned every Friday and is due the following Friday before the start of class (note, homeworks 1 & 2 do not conform). Late homework will not be accepted except by special arrangement with the instructor. Each week's homework will be given equal weight in the final grade unless otherwise specified. Matlab is the required computer language for the homework. I provide you with sample files and hints as needed, so students do not find the learning Matlab an onerous part of this course.

Collaboration: Students are encouraged to collaborate on their homework if it is helpful. However, each student is responsible for understanding thoroughly everything they turn in. I reserve the right to quiz individual students about their homework to make sure this rule is observed.

Reading: K&T Chapters 1-3

FRW Notes for 262 (Updated Jan 2009)

Homework 1 (Assigned Jan 7, due Jan 21)

Homework 2 (Assigned Jan 9 due Jan 21)

Homework 3 (Assigned Jan 16 due Jan 23)

Homework 4 (Assigned Jan 23 due Jan 30)

Homework 5 (Assigned Jan 30 due Feb 6)

Homework 6 (Assigned Feb 5 due Feb 13)

Homework 7 (Assigned Mar 2 due Mar 16)

Matlab Files for this course

Slides from 1st day

Saved links from last year (may be modified for this class)