Courses Catalogue

Syllabus of the course: Gravity and Cosmology

In this web page we provide the syllabus of the course Gravity and Cosmology, offered by the Department of Physics.
The list of the courses offered during the current accademic year is available here.
The list of all courses offered by the Department of Physics is available here.

Code	Φ-324
Type	B
ECTS	6
Hours	4
Semester	Winter
Instructor	E. Kiritsis
Program	Monday 11:00-13:00, Room 1 Wednesday 11:00-13:00, Room 1
Web page	https://eclass.physics.uoc.gr/courses/PH324/
Goal of the course	This is a junior year elective course for advanced physics majors with appropriate background. The main theme is Gravity Theory based on the General Theory of Relativity, with applications in a variety of gravitational phenomena, and the study of Cosmology. The Standard Model
Syllabus	Introduction: The Newtonian Theory of Gravity. The Special Theory of Relativity. Tensor calculus. Basic elements of differential geometry. General Theory of Relativity: The Principle of Equivalence and applications. Motion in a given gravitational field. The Solar system and the precession of the perihelion of Mercury. Gravitational lensing. Dark matter. Einstein equations of General Relativity. Gravitational waves. Black Holes. Brief presentation of contemporary ideas and extensions of the theory. Cosmology: Cosmography. The homogeneous and isotropic Universe. The Cosmological Principle. The cosmological parameters. Cosmological spacetimes, Friedmann equations and the Standard Model of Cosmic evolution. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and the First Three Minutes of the history of the Universe. Inflation as a way to solve serious problems of the Standard Big Bang Cosmology and of structure formation. The present cosmic acceleration and extensions of the model. The problem of Dark Energy.
Bibliography	1. “Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology: A basic introduction” - Ta-Pei Cheng, Oxford U. Press (2005). 2. “Gravity: An introduction to Einstein’s General Relativity” – J.B. Hartle, Addison-Wesley (2003). 3. “Introduction to Cosmology” – B. Ryden, Addison-Wesley (2003). 4. “An introduction to the science of Cosmology” – D.J. Raine and E.G. Thomas, IOP, Bristol (2001). 5. “Cosmology: The science of the Universe” – E. Harrison, Cambridge U. Press (2000). 6. «Gravitation and Cosmology» - Steven Weinberg, John Wiley & Sons (1972). 7. «Physical Foundations of Cosmology» - V. Mukhanov, Cambridge U. Press (2004).