Prerequisites: graduate standing; PHYS 208
Description: Discusses advanced topics in cosmology: Friedmann models and the large-scale structure of the universe, Hubble constant and deceleration parame- ter, and galaxy counting and the physics of the early universe. Also covers vacuum phase transitions, infla- tion, baryon number generation, fluctuations, topologi- cal defects and textures, primordial nucleosynthesis, density fluctuations, dark matter candidates, and the age of the universe. Students whose research is relat- ed to cosmology or astroparticle physics receive a let- ter grade; other students receive a letter grade or Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade. Physics and Astronomy