Fundamentals of Cosmology [Hardcover]

James Rich (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3540413502 | ISBN-13: 978-3540413509 | Publication Date: June 15, 2001 | Edition: 1

The book is aimed at physics students and professional physicists who wish to understand the basics of cosmology and general relativity as well as the most recent cosmological observations and models.It presents a self-contained introduction to general relativity that is based on the homogeneity and isotropy of the local universe. The simplicity of this space allows general relativity to be introduced in a very simple manner while laying the foundation for the treatment of more complicated problems.The latest cosmological observations and theories are discussed. Emphasis is placed on estimations of the densities of matter and of vacuum energy, and on investigations of the primordial density fluctuations and the nature of dark matter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews"[It] is a pleasure to read and distraction to review. The book provides a comprehensive and thorough explication of current cosmology at a level appropriate for a beginning graduate student or an advanced and motivated undergraduate. It covers all relevant concepts of cosmology and pertinent general relativity and contains a significant number of exercises, with solutions to a sample set. This book clearly is the result of the refining of notes from a course on cosmology… It provides a summary of current observations and mathematical underpinnings of the physical principles. This is an extremely valuable contribution in the field, which has been changing rapidly as a result of new technology and new theoretical motivations from the related field of high-energy physics… This book provides a good look at the intellectual effort and a solid foundation for the new discoveries soon to come." (Physics Today, September 2002) "All these exciting developments are laid out in a very accessible form in this textbook especially written for senior undergraduates or graduates from various backgrounds. It deals in a very nice and explicit form with the basic ideas of cosmology and general relativity (...). This is a fine textbook and would be very enjoyable for private study. (The Physicist, 2001)

From the Back Cover

The book is aimed at astrophysics students and professional physicists who wish to understand the basics of cosmology and general relativity as well as the observational foundations of the LambdaCDM model of the Universe. The book provides a self-contained introduction to general relativity that is based on the homogeneity and isotropy of the local universe. The simplicity of this space allows general relativity to be presented in a very elementary manner while laying the foundation for the treatment of more complicated problems. The new edition presents the most recent observations, including those of CMB anisotropies by WMAP and of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations by SDSS. Future observational and theoretical challenges for the understanding of dark energy and dark matter are discussed. From 1st edition reviews: "The book provides a comprehensive and thorough explication of current cosmology at a level appropriate for a beginning graduate student or an advanced and motivated undergraduate. ... This is an extremely valuable contribution in the field, which has been changing rapidly ... provides a good look at the intellectual effort and a solid foundation for the new discoveries soon to come." (Physics Today, September 2002) "All these exciting developments are laid out in a very accessible form in this textbook especially written for senior undergraduates or graduates from various backgrounds. It deals in a very nice and explicit form with the basic ideas of cosmology and general relativity (...). This is a fine textbook and would be very enjoyable for private study. (The Physicist, 2001) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540413502
• ISBN-13: 978-3540413509
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,104,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Needs significant format improvements, December 12, 2010

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This review is from: Fundamentals of Cosmology (Kindle Edition)

The Ebook version cannot be recommended until the formatting issues are resovled! Some characters & tables are unreadable. The font is a bad choice for the kindle.