Introduction to physical cosmology

<p>Seminar</p>

<p>The final exam of the Course will consist of an oral presentation on a topic that has not been extensively discussed during the Course, but which is related to the subject, and it is of interest for you. The main idea is that you should give a general introduction to the topic and then specialize in one specific aspect which is an open problem or part of current research.</p>

The course is suitable to IV and V year students of the Physics Laurea Course. No specific prerequisites are necessary as the Course will start from the basic cosmological foundations. If required by even a single student, the course will be taught in English.

The main purpose of the course is to introduce the basic concepts of Physical Cosmology, combining the theoretical aspects with those deriving from past and ongoing experiments. Starting from the fundamental notions of Cosmology, the fundamental kinematic and dynamic properties of Friedmann's cosmological model will be derived from the field equations of General Relativity. The next step will concern the discussion of the linear theory of perturbations, their statistical properties and their growth, followed by the study of non-linear evolution that leads to the formation of cosmic structures. In-depth studies will be proposed on two fundamental components of the Standard Cosmological Model, dark matter and dark energy. In the second part of the course we will deal with the phenomenon of cosmic recombination and its relationship with the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the theoretical basis of which will be discussed in detail as regards in particular to the spectrum of angular fluctuations and the corresponding anisotropies. The last part of the course will lead students to learn about the open problems in current research in the field, with particular emphasis on cosmic inflation. These problems may be further investigated in the seminar proposed as a final exam.

• Peebles, J., 1993, Principles of Physical Cosmology, Princeton Univ. Press
• Padmanabhan, T., 1993, Structure Formation in the Universe, Cambridge Univ. Press
• Ferrara, A., 2006, First Light in the Universe, Saas-Fee Lectures 2006, Springer
• Mo et al., 2010, Galaxy Formation and Evolution, Cambridge Univ. Press