Origin of the Universe
ASTR340, Spring 2017, Prof. Harris
Lecture schedule and reading assignments
This schedule is approximate; all dates are subject to
revision. ''Ch. X'' is the reading assignment and refers to the
chapter in the textbook covering the material from lectures.
Pre-History and Early History of Cosmology
Jan. 26 -- Introduction
(Ch. 1)
Jan. 31; Feb. 2-- Geocentric
cosmology and astronomy; Renaissance empiricism and the heliocentric
model (Ch. 2)
Feb. 7, 9 -- The Universe of physical law; the age of the
Earth and the Cosmos (Ch. 3)
Relativity
Feb. 14 -- Principles of space and time (Ch. 6)
Feb. 16, 21 -- Special
relativity (Ch. 7)
Feb. 23 -- General relativity (Ch. 8)
Feb. 28 -- Black holes (Ch. 9)
Modern Cosmology
Mar 2, 7 -- The Universe beyond our Galaxy; cosmological
expansion (Ch. 10)
Mar. 9 -- MIDTERM EXAM (Covers through Ch. 9)
Mar. 14 -- Introduction to geometry and
evolution of the Universe (Ch. 11)
Mar. 16 -- Geometry and evolution of the Universe (Ch.
11)
Mar. 21, 23 -- Spring Break
Mar. 28 -- Geometry and evolution of the Universe (Ch.
11)
Mar 30; Apr. 4, 6 -- The Big Bang and early Universe (Ch.
12)
Contemporary Cosmology
Apr. 11, 13 -- Measurement
of cosmological parameters (Ch. 13)
Apr. 18, 20 -- Cosmic background radiation (Ch. 14)
Apr. 25, 27-- Dark matter
and cosmic structure formation (Ch. 15)
May 2, 4 -- Cosmological inflation (Ch. 16)
May 9 -- Many-universe and further
interpretations (Ch. 16)
May 11 -- Last class and review
May 13 -- 08:00-10:00 Final Exam, CSS 2400
(Yes, Saturday. Yes, 8 AM)