Elements Of Cosmology

Foreword / Preface / THE LARGE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE - Introduction; Structural hierarchy; Hubble's law; Radiation backgrounds; Exercises / Newtonian Cosmology: THEORETICAL MODELS - Introduction; Simplifying postulates; Redshift; Luminosity distance; Cosmological models; The cosmological constant; Space-time singularity; The steady state model; Exercises / HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE - Matter vs radiation-dominated universe; The hot universe; The very early universe; The early universe; Conclusion; Exercises / OBSERVATIONAL TESTS OF COSMOLOGICAL MODELS - Introduction; Tests of cosmological models based on observations of the distant parts of the universe; Observations from the nearby universe; Exercises / PRESENT CHALLENGES IN COSMOLOGY - Structure formation; Observational cosmology; Alternative cosmologies / Appendix: Mathematical, Physical and astronomical constants / Suggested further reading / Index

This book is based on lectures given by the author at a number of universities with the aim of introducing Cosmology to students and teachers at the graduate level. Here cosmology is explained within the framework of Newtonian gravity and mechanics thereby making it readily understood to students of Physics and Mathematics at the undergraduate level. The description is up-to-date and includes cosmological models, their physical properties and observational tests.