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Course Description:
Cosmology is the study of the origin, structure and evolution of the
Universe itself: the totality of phenomena of space and time. It is
the oldest science, and addresses the biggest questions: How old is
the Universe? Did time have a beginning? What is the Universe made
of? What are Dark Matter and Dark Energy? Is the Universe finite,
and if so, what do we find at the edge? Are we alone in the Universe?
In this course we journey from the Ancient Greek world views of
Ptolemy and Aristotle to the hot Big-Bang model of modern-day
cosmology. Along the way we learn how stars shine, how black holes
form, how galaxies take on their shapes, and how Copernicus, Galilei,
Newton, Einstein, Hubble and others have transformed our geocentric
views to one in which we inhabit just a small planet immersed in an
infinite, expanding space-time that is 13.73 billion years old and
consists of dark matter and dark energy, and in which galaxies are the
product of quantum fluctuations.
| Instructor: |
Prof. Frank C. van den Bosch |
| Office Hours: |
(by appointment only) |
| Office Location: |
JWG 255 (J.W. Gibbs Lab., 260 Whitney Ave.) |
| Email: |
frank.vandenbosch@yale.edu |
| Teaching Assistants: |
Sarah Benjamin & Jeremy Bradford |
| Office Hours: |
Wed 10-12am (SB) and Mon 2-4pm (JB), or by appointment |
| Office Location: |
JWG 209 (SB) & JWG 207 (JB) |
| Email: |
sarah.benjamin and jeremy.bradford AT yale.edu |
Syllabus:
Click here for download
| Recommended Textbooks: |
Your Cosmic Context: An Introduction to Modern Cosmology by Todd Duncan & Craig Tyler |
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Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2010; ISBN 978-0-13-240010-7 (paperback) |
Lectures:
This course does not follow any particular textbook. PDFs of all lecture notes will be posted on
the Classes*v2 website for your convenience, and these lecture notes contain all material
required for the exams. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the lectures as this provides the best
change (by far) to learn and comprehend the material covered.
| Grading: |
40% Final Exam (Thu Dec 12 at 7.00pm; subject to change) |
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30% Midterm Exam (during regular class hours on Tue Oct 22) |
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30% Homework (five problem sets) |
Exams:
Exams, both midterm and final, are aimed at ensuring that you follow
along in the text and engage in lecture. They will test reading
comprehension, qualitative understanding of the key concepts, and
include a small percentage of basic math problems.
No makeup exams will be given. Only in exceptional cases (conflict
with other exam, death in the family, etc.) will I consider making
arrangements for you to take the exam at some other time.
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