An Introduction to Modern Cosmology - Hardcover

Liddle, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471987573 ISBN 13: 9780471987574

Publisher: Wiley, 1999

Synopsis

This new textbook provides a readable and accessible introduction to the subject for those students taking a first course in cosmology. An Introduction to Modern Cosmology introduces models of the expanding universe and explores all the successes of the hot big bang, including the cosmic microwave background and nucleosynthesis. A brief discussion of the inflationary cosmology is also included. No prior knowledge of astronomy is assumed and the book's general approach tends to avoid relativity, deriving the crucial results using newtonian theory. This allows a discussion of all the evidence in favour of the hot big bang in a treatment which is based in physics rather than mathematics.

About this title

From the Back Cover

An Introduction to Modern Cosmology is a concise and accessible account of modern cosmological ideas. The Big Bang Cosmology is explored, looking at its observational successes in explaining the expansion and age of the universe, the existence and properties of the cosmic microwave background, and the origin of the light elements in the universe. Properties of the very early universe are also covered, including the motivation for the theory known as cosmological inflation. Focusing on theoretical rather than observational aspects, this book adopts a physical approach to cosmology instead of a detailed mathematical one, in particular avoiding general relativity. An Introduction to Modern Cosmology:

• Is a concise, lucidly written introduction to this exciting and dynamic subject.
• Adopts an approach grounded in physics rather than mathematics.
• Includes worked examples and student problems, along with hints for solving them and the numerical answers.
• Brings the subject to life through carefully chosen illustrations and a colour plate section.

About the Author

Andrew Liddle is a lecturer in astrophysics at Imperial College, London. Previously, he was at the Astronomy Centre, The University of Sussex, where he lectured to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This book has evolved from his undergraduate cosmology course. His research interests currently include the origin and evolution of structure in the universe and the relation between astronomical observations and the physics of the very early universe.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0471987573
• ISBN 13: 9780471987574
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144