Extended version of Lecture Courses given at several places including X Special Courses at Observatorio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during 26-30 Sept, 2005. To appear in the Proceedings.
astro-ph/0602117

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Abstract: These lecture notes provide a concise, rapid and pedagogical introduction to several advanced topics in contemporary cosmology. The discussion of thermal history of the universe, linear perturbation theory, theory of CMBR temperature anisotropies and the inflationary generation of perturbation are presented in a manner accessible to someone who has done a first course in cosmology. The discussion of dark energy is more research oriented and reflects the personal bias of the author. Contents: (I) The cosmological paradigm and Friedmann model; (II) Thermal history of the universe; (III) Structure formation and linear perturbation theories; (IV) Perturbations in dark matter and radiation; (V) Transfer function for matter perturbations; (VI) Temperature anisotropies of CMBR; (VII) Generation of initial perturbations from inflation; (VIII) The dark energy.

Table of Contents

• THE COSMOLOGICAL PARADIGM AND FRIEDMANN MODEL
• THERMAL HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE
• Neutrino background
• Primordial Nucleosynthesis
• Decoupling of matter and radiation
• STRUCTURE FORMATION AND LINEAR PERTURBATION THEORY
• PERTURBATIONS IN DARK MATTER AND RADIATION
• Evolution for >> d_H
• Evolution for << d_H in the radiation dominated phase
• Evolution in the matter dominated phase
• An alternative description of matter-radiation system
• TRANSFER FUNCTION FOR MATTER PERTURBATIONS
• TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPIES OF CMBR
• CMBR Temperature Anisotropy: More detailed theory
• Description of photon-baryon fluid
• GENERATION OF INITIAL PERTURBATIONS FROM INFLATION
• THE DARK ENERGY
• Gravitational Holography
• Cosmic Lenz law
• Geometrical Duality in our Universe
• Gravity as detector of the vacuum energy
• REFERENCES