Entry requirements

Bachelor's degree including 30 ECTS credits of mathematics and 60 ECTS credits of physics.

Learning outcomes

After the finished course the student is expected to

* account for the theoretical basis for our modern cosmological view of the universe, including the beginning at Big Bang and the development up to early galaxy formation

* account for the latest observational results within cosmological research, and an insight into the current issues

Content

The expansion of the universe and Hubble's law. The cosmological principle. Restrictions of Newtonian mechanics and the theory of special relativity. General relativity and the equivalence principle. The metrics of curved space/space-time. Black holes. Homogeneous and isotropic universes. The Robertson-Walker metric. Cosmological redshift. The Friedmann models. Big Bang. Thermodynamics of the early universe. The theory of inflation. Early fluctuations and their growth. The cosmic microwave background. Early nucleosynthesis and cosmochronology. The matter content of the universe. Dark matter. Dark energy. The determination of the cosmological parameters. Alternative cosmologies.

Instruction

Lectures, exercises, seminars, observational exercise and laboratory exercises.

Assessment

Written exam at the end of the course, corresponding to 7 credits. Passed laboratory exercises, corresponding to 1.5 credits and hand in exercises, corresponding to 1.5 credits.