| UNITOV Prof. N. Vittorio | Advanced Cosmology (S3, elective, 6 ECTS) |
| Learning Outcomes: | Knowledge of modern theories for the large scale structure formation in the universe. Knowledge of the basic statistics tools, e.g. correlation function and power spectrum, in the framework of Gaussian stochastic processes. Knowledge of the cosmological models dominated by dark matter and dark energy, and of the main physical mechanisms producing anisotropies in the temperature and polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background. Skills aimed to characterize primordial density fluctuation, their evolution and their tests against observations. Skills aimed to interpreting the main results of the COBE, WMAP, Planck satellites, and of the most recent redshift surveys. Knowledge of the main CMB experiments of the next decade and of their scientific rationale. |
| Knowledge and Understanding: | The course includes activities for mentoring between equals performed weekly in the second half of the semester. The experience of the past years has been quite positive. The formal verification of the learning outcomes are carried out at the end of the course with an oral examination. During the exam, it is required that the student has a knowledge of the topics discussed during the course, but also the ability to perform logical connections between the different parts of the program and also with elements already acquired in other courses. |
| Applying Knowledge and Understanding: | The course consists of a theoretical training base, necessary to acquire all the necessary mathematical instruments. In the second half of the course, it pays great attention to the experimental and/or observational aspects that validate the development of the theoretical first part. It is required that the student is capable of handling the mathematical instruments to formulate specific predictions for some observable. This close connection between mathematical tool and observations has demonstrated over the years to help the student to have a full comprehension of the course content, also regarding its more formal parts. |
| Prerequisites | General Relativity |
| Program | Gravitational instabilities in GR and in the Newtonian limit. Jeans wavelength. Diffusion and free-streaming phenomena. Correlation function and power spectrum of density fluctuations. Gaussian statistic and initial conditions. Evolution of the power spectrum in cosmological models. Galaxy correlation function. Dipole anisotropy of the cosmic background and the “great attractor”. Intensity and polarization anisotropies of the CMB. Sachs-Wolfe effect. Results from the COBE, WMAP, Planck satellites: the concordance model and the anomalies. Redshift surveys and Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations. Future space missions: Euclid and LiteBIRD satellites. |
| Description of how the course is conducted | |
| Description of the didactic methods | |
| Description of the evaluation methods | |
| Adopted Textbooks | Vittorio, Cosmology, CRC Press |
| Recommended readings | Coles and Lucchin, Cosmology, Wiley Dodelson, Modern cosmology, Academic Press Longair, Galaxy formation, Springer Peacock, Cosmological physics, Cambridge University Press |
