The Physics of the Early Universe

Kyriakos Tamvakis (auth.), E. Papantonopoulos (eds.)3540227121, 9783540227120

The Physics of the Early Universe is an edited and expanded version of the lectures given at a recent summer school of the same name. Its aim is to present an advanced multi-authored textbook that meets the needs of both postgraduate students and young researchers interested in, or already working on, problems in cosmology and general relativity, with emphasis on the early universe. A particular strong feature of the present work is the constructive-critical approach to the present mainstream theories, the careful assessment of some alternative approaches, and the overall balance between theoretical and observational considerations. As such, this book will also benefit experienced scientists and nonspecialists from related areas of research.

Table of contents :
1 An Introduction to the Physics of the Early Universe….Pages 3-29
2 Cosmological Perturbation Theory….Pages 31-69
3 Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies….Pages 71-103
4 Observational Cosmology….Pages 105-137
5 Dark Matter and Dark Energy….Pages 141-179
6 String Cosmology….Pages 181-211
7 Brane-World Cosmology….Pages 213-252
8 Gravitational Wave Astronomy:The High Frequency Window….Pages 255-276
9 Computational Black Hole Dynamics….Pages 277-298