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| # | Lecture Date | Lecture Topic | Reading | Homework due or Tests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Tu Jan 26 | Course overview; problem solving techniques; the "Cosmological Principle": we ain't special | all of Ch 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Th Jan 28 | Olbers' paradox; cosmography | §2.1-2.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tu Feb 2 | Wrapping up cosmography and generic discussion of wavelengths; CMB: the universe's best blackbody! Just where does the Planck spectrum come from? Glimmers of the Horizon Puzzle | §2.3,4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Th Feb 4 * | homogeneity & isotropy; redshift; Hubble's Law and not-quite-so Constant; First stab at an ingredients list; some quantum numerology and why we ♥ light soooo much | §2.5 | | 5 | Tu Feb 9
| Snowday
| |
| 6 | Th Feb 11
| Snowday
| |
| 7 | Tu Feb 16
| Sneaky cheats for the Friedmann equation; superluminal
expansion
| §3.1-3.3 | HW #0 due
| 8 | Th Feb 18
| The "fluid" equation (or how to abuse thermodynamics); the
acceleration equation
| §3.4-3.5 |
| 9 | Tu Feb 23
| A glimmer of general relativity; a more "honest" look at
derivation of Friedmann equation (and why it worked); redshift and scale
factor relation ( 1+z = 1/a )
| §3.6 & Adv. Topic 1 | HW #1 due
| 10 | Th Feb 25
| Test 1
| Test 1
| 11 | Tu Mar 2
| energy and curvature (k); solving the fluid equation;
cosmological models and their abuses; first glimpse of Ωi
| §5.5, 6.1, 6.2 |
| 12 | Th Mar 4
| Of ants on balloons and telescopes which look at the back
of your head; the Big Bang isn't local; Geometry in 4d;
G=h-bar=c=kB=1 (and sometimes
e2/4πε0=1, too!)
| Ch 4 |
| 13 | Tu Mar 9
| Finish natural units; go over Test 1; and..aha! All along
we've been doing Chapter 7!
| Ch 7 |
| 14 | Th Mar 11
| The deceleration parameter; a glimpse of structure formation q0
| §6.3, 7.3 |
| T Mar 16 | Th Mar 18 15 | Tu Mar 23
| The age of the universe; more structure formation: dark matter
haloes and why they can't be 'cuspy'...also, they're not MACHOs...
| Ch 8 | HW #2 due
| 16 | Th Mar 25
| more structure formation and dark matter
| Ch 9 |
| 17 | Tu Mar 30
| δk and spherical overdensity turnaround (cycloid solution)
| special topic |
| 18 | Th Apr 1
| cosmic microwave background and why you can't reheat leftovers with it
| Ch 10 |
| 19 | Tu Apr 6
| more CMB in depth
| A5.4 |
| 20 | Th Apr 8**
| wrapping up the CMB; test 2 review
| | HW #3 due
| 21 | Tu Apr 13
| Test 2
| Test 2
| 22 | Th Apr 15
| The Early Universe and more natural units discussion
| Ch 11 |
| 23 | Tu Apr 20
| more early universe stuff; nucleosynthesis
| Ch 12 |
| 24 | Th Apr 22
| nucleosynthesis wrapped up
| |
| 25 | Tu Apr 27
| Inflation; the power spectrum origin...
| Ch 13 |
| 26 | Th Apr 29
| inflation wrapped up? alternatives to inflation
| | HW #4 due; | (4/30 5 pm) 27 | Tu May 4
| Test 3
| Test 3
| 28 | Th May 6
| The cherry on top: frontiers of cosmology
| Ch 14 |
| 29 | Tu May 11
| Final Review
| Everything! | HW #5 due
| -- | Thu May 13
| FINAL EXAM 8-10 am in our usual lecture room CSS 0201
| on Chs. 1-?
| | |||||||||
*Friday February 5th is the last day for painless schedule adjustments (add/drop). back
**Not to scare you, but Friday April 9th is the last day to withdraw (drop with a "W"). back