Advanced Cosmology (879F3)

15 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

In this module you will apply Einstein’s general theory of relativity to understand the dynamical evolution of our Universe and the thermodynamical evolution of the cosmic plasma.

You will investigate the theory of cosmic inflation, which provides an elegant resolution to a series of critical problems for the vanilla-flavoured standard big bang cosmology.

You will then go on to study how the seeds of cosmic structure are amplified through gravitational instability.

You will also examine some of the observables that provide us with crucial evidence to constrain the parameters of the cosmological model.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.