Surveying key developments and open issues in cosmology for graduate students and researchers, this book focuses on the general concepts and relations that underpin the standard model of the Universe. It also examines anisotropic and inhomogeneous models, and deeper issues, such as quantum cosmology and the multiverse proposal.
Cosmology has been transformed by dramatic progress in high-precision observations and theoretical modelling. This book surveys key developments and open issues for graduate students and researchers. Using a relativistic geometric approach, it focuses on the general concepts and relations that underpin the standard model of the Universe. Part I covers foundations of relativistic cosmology whilst Part II develops the dynamical and observational relations for all models of the Universe based on general relativity. Part III focuses on the standard model of cosmology, including inflation, dark matter, dark energy, perturbation theory, the cosmic microwave background, structure formation and gravitational lensing. It also examines modified gravity and inhomogeneity as possible alternatives to dark energy. Anisotropic and inhomogeneous models are described in Part IV, and Part V reviews deeper issues, such as quantum cosmology, the start of the universe and the multiverse proposal. Colour versions of some figures are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521381154.
'The science of the Universe has taken physics and astronomy by storm over the last few decades. The phenomenal progress in measuring the state of the Universe has made cosmology the premier field of research. While the current theoretical tools have proven to be more than adequate, Relativistic Cosmology now takes cosmology to a new level of sophistication. Ellis, MacCallum and Maartens have brought the geometry space time once again to the fore in a wonderfully comprehensive and coherent survey of the mathematical and physical techniques that need to be deployed to truly understand the origin and evolution of the Universe. This book will become an instant classic.' Pedro Ferreira, University of Oxford
