© CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1993

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Chapter Contents

1. THE LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

   1.1 Astronomy and cosmology

   1.2 Our Galaxy

   1.3 Galaxy types

   1.4 Radio sources

   1.5 Quasars

   1.6 Structures on the largest scale

   1.7 Coordinates and catalogues of astronomical objects

   1.8 Expansion of the universe

   1.9 The radiation backgrounds

   1.10 Relativistic cosmology

2. GENERAL RELATIVITY

   2.1 Space, time, and gravitation

   2.2 Vectors and tensors

   2.3 Covariant differentiation

   2.4 Riemannian geometry

   2.5 Spacetime curvature

   2.6 Geodesics

   2.7 The principle of equivalence

   2.8 Action principle and the energy tensors

   2.9 Gravitational equations

   2.10 The Schwarzschild solution

   Exercises

3. FROM RELATIVITY TO COSMOLOGY

   3.1 Historical background

   3.2 The Einstein universe

   3.3 The expanding universe

   3.4 Simplifying assumptions of cosmology

   3.5 The redshift

   3.6 Apparent magnitude

   3.7 Hubble's law

   3.8 Angular size

   3.9 Source counts

   Exercises

4. THE FRIEDMANN MODELS

   4.1 The Einstein field equations in cosmology

   4.2 Energy tensors of the universe

   4.3 The solution of Friedmann's equations

   4.4 The luminosity distance

   4.5 Angular size

   4.6 Source counts

   4.7 Radiation background from sources

   4.8 Cosmological models with the -term

   4.9 Concluding remarks

   Exercises

5. RELICS OF THE BIG BANG

   5.1 The early universe

   5.2 Thermodynamics of the early universe

   5.3 Primordial neutrinos

   5.4 The neutron/proton ratio

   5.5 The synthesis of helium and other nuclei

   5.6 The microwave background

   5.7 Concluding remarks

   Exercises

6. THE VERY EARLY UNIVERSE

   6.1 Cosmology and particle physics

   6.2 Survival of massive particles

   6.3 Grand unified theories and baryon asymmetry

   6.4 Some problems of standard cosmology

   6.5 The inflationary universe

   6.6 Primordial black holes

   6.7 Quantum cosmology

   Exercises

7. THE FORMATION OF STRUCTURES IN THE UNIVERSE

   7.1 A key problem in cosmology

   7.2 The Jeans mass in the expanding universe

   7.3 Growth in the postrecombination era

   7.4 Observational constraints

   7.5 Inputs from the inflationary phase

   7.6 The role of dark matter

   7.7 The nonlinear regime

   Exercises

8. ALTERNATIVE COSMOLOGIES

   8.1 Alternatives to Friedmann cosmologies

   8.2 The steady state theory

   8.3 Observable parameters of the steady state theory

   8.4 PhysicaL and astrophysical considerations

   8.5 Mach's principle

   8.6 The Brans-Dicke theory of gravity

   8.7 CosmologicaL solutions in the Brans-Dicke theory

   8.8 The Hoyle-Narlikar cosmologies

   8.9 The gravitational equations of HN theory

   8.10 The Large Numbers Hypothesis

   8.11 The two metrics

   8.12 Cosmological models based on the LNH

   8.13 Conclusion

   Exercises

9. LOCAL OBSERVATIONS OF COSMOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

   9.1 Introduction

   9.2 The measurement of Hubble's constant

   9.3 The anisotropy of local large-scale velocity fields

   9.4 The distribution and density of matter in our neighbourhood

   9.5 The age of the universe

   9.6 The abundance of light nuclei

   9.7 The evidence for antimatter

   9.8 The microwave background

   Exercises

10. OBSERVATIONS OF DISTANT PARTS OF THE UNIVERSE

    10.1 The past light cone

    10.2 The redshift-magnitude relation

    10.3 Number counts of extragalactic objects

    10.4 The variation of angular sizes with distance

    10.5 The surface brightness test

    10.6 Quasars as probes of history of the universe

    10.7 The variation of fundamental constants

    Exercises

11. A CRITICAL OVERVIEW

    11.1 Cosmology as a science

    11.2 The case for standard cosmology

    11.2 The case for standard cosmology

    11.3 The case against standard cosmology

    11.4 The observational uncertainties

    11.5 Outlook for the future

Table of constants

Glossary of symbols and abbreviations

Bibliography

Index