An introduction to the science of cosmology (Q2719317)

The ten chapters of this book are: 1. Reconstructing time, 2. Expansion, 3. Matter, 4. Radiation, 5. Relativity, 6. Models, 7. Hot big bang, 8. Inflation, 9. Structure, 10. Epilogue. Of course, all these 10 chapters refer to the field of cosmology, so, Chapter 1 could also be headed: ``Principles of cosmology'', and Chapter 9: ``How galaxies are born''. The chapter on relativity starts with the general one, special relativity theory is assumed as known background knowledge. The book mainly deals with the physical and astronomical facts related to cosmology. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEOriginally, this book was intended to become, as the authors write in the preface: ``an updated edition of `The Isotropic Universe' published by one of us in 1984''. (Let me add: ``one of us'' is D. Raine.) The book is neither a popular book nor a research monograph, but something between these two edges. This scope, of course, cannot be reached without making compromises. The authors have chosen to use several ordinary differential equations, which the reader should be able to understand, but the use of partial differential equations is postponed to Section 9.7., where they are necessary to describe the growth of matter perturbations. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEUseful appendices present the values of astrophysical constants and other quantities, a reference list and an index.