96388 - ADVANCED COSMOLOGY

Learning outcomes

This course is intended to present the current understanding of the main advanced topics in Cosmology. After completing the course, students will acquire a thorough and updated knowledge of modern cosmological frameworks, with particular focus on dark matter and dark energy models, and on all the main cosmological probes. Furthermore, they will learn the primary statistical methods of modern observational Cosmology.

Course contents

• General Relativity
  fields; space and time; curved spaces; basic equations; action; symmetries and interpretation; Newtonian limit; the field of a mass
  

• Analysis and inference
  Bayesian analysis; likelihood, prior and posterior functions; data analysis techniques; Fisher matrix; Monte Carlo Markov Chains; machine learning for Cosmology

• The concordance cosmological model
  the thermal history of the Universe; the cosmic web; dark components

• The expanding Universe
  expanding space; distances; evolution of energy; cosmic inventory

• The fundamental equation of Cosmology
  Einstein equations; Boltzmann equation; beyond the homogeneous Universe

• The origin of species
  Big Bang nucleosynthesis; recombination; dark matter

• The inhomogeneous Universe
  the Boltzmann equation for photons, cold dark matter, baryons and neutrinos; scalar-vector-tensor decomposition; the Einstein equations for scalar perturbations; tensor perturbations
  

• Growth of structure: linear theory
  large scales; small scales; the transfer function; the growth factor

• Growth of structure: beyond linear theory
  perturbation theory; simulations; dark matter haloes; the halo model
  

• Probes of structure: tracers
  statistics of galaxies, galaxy clusters and cosmic voids; angular and 3D clustering; bias; baryon acoustic oscillations; redshift-space distortions; geometric distortions

• Numerical tools
  CosmoBolognaLib

Readings/Bibliography

• General Relativity: The Essentials - Carlo Rovelli;
  Cambridge University Press
  
  
• Modern Cosmology Second Edition - Scott Dodelson, Fabian Schmidt;
  Academic Press
  
  
• Lecture slides, notes and selected scientific papers

Teaching methods

Oral lectures and laboratories of data analysis

Assessment methods

The exam is oral. It starts with a discussion on a specific topic chosen by the student. Then it follows with questions on all other arguments covered in the course, with the aim of verifying the aquired knowledge on both theoretical and observational aspects of modern Cosmology.

Teaching tools

Blackboard and presentations of slides.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Marulli