Educational offer - University of Padova

Information on the course unit

Degree course	Second cycle degree in PHYSICS SC2382, Degree course structure A.Y. 2017/18, A.Y. 2018/19	bring this page with you
Degree course track	PHYSICS OF THE UNIVERSE [003PD]
Number of ECTS credits allocated	6.0
Type of assessment	Mark
Course unit English denomination	COSMOLOGY
Website of the academic structure	http://physics.scienze.unipd.it/2018/laurea_magistrale
Department of reference	Department of Physics and Astronomy
Mandatory attendance	No
Language of instruction	English
Branch	PADOVA
Single Course unit	The Course unit can be attended under the option Single Course unit attendance
Optional Course unit	The Course unit can be chosen as Optional Course unit

Syllabus

Prerequisites:	Fundamentals of Cosmology and Astrophysics
Target skills and knowledge:	The goal of this lecture course is to make the students familiar with some of the most important research subjects of modern cosmology, as well as provifding them with some of the fundamental tools used to analyse and interpret cosmological data.
Examination methods:	The exam of this course can be made in two alternative ways: 1. Oral interview on the main topics analyzed during the course. 2. (only for the students who attended the course) Short writtenm dissertation on a topic discussed during the course, to be agreed with the lecturer. The dissertation should contain a detailed of the chosen sunbject, based upon one or a few review articles (and or some cosmology textbook chapters). The content of this dissertation, to be discussed with the professor is expected to show how much the student has becokem acquainted with the main concepts presented in the lectures.
Assessment criteria:	Ability of the student to elaborate on and make use of the subjects presented in the course.
Course unit contents:	General introduction • Derivation of the Friedmann eqs. from Einstein's eqs. (after a very synthetic introduction to the latter), assuming the Robertson-Walker line-element. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation • Boltzmann eq. and hydrogen recombination: beyond Saha equation • The Boltzmann eq. in the perturbed universe: the photon distribution function • The collision term • Boltzmann eq. for photons in the linear approximation • Boltzmann eq. for cold dark matter (CDM) in the linear approximation • Boltzmann eq. for baryons in the linear approx. • Evolution eq. for the photon brightness function • Linearly perturbed Einstein's equations (scalar modes) • Initial conditions • Super-horizon evolution • Acoustic oscillations and tight coupling • Free-streaming – role of the visibility function • Evolution of gravitazional potential and Silk damping • Temperature anisotropy multipoles • Angular power-spectrum of the temperature anisotropy • Sachs-Wolfe effect • Small angular scales: acoustic peaks and their dependence on cosmological parameters The gravitational instability • Gravitational instability in the expanding Universe • Boltzmann eq. for a system of collisionless particles and the fluid limit • The Zel’dovich approximation • The adhesion approximation • Solution of the 3D Burgers equation Statistical methods in cosmology • The ergodic and the “fair sample” hypotheses • N-point correlation functions • Power-spectrum and Wiener-Khintchine theorem • Low-pass filtering techniques • Up-crossing regions and peaks of the density fluctuation field • Gaussian and non-Gaussian random fields • The path-integral approach to cosmological fluctuation fields
Planned learning activities and teaching methods:	Classrooms, including some computer worked examples.
Additional notes about suggested reading:	Professor's notes on esentially all the subjects covered during the course.
Textbooks (and optional supplementary readings)	Dodelson, S., Modern Cosmology. Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2003. Coles P. and Lucchin F., Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Structure. Chichester: Wiley and Sons, 2001.