This course provides a comprehensive overview of today’s standard cosmological concordance model and is based on an appropriate blend of theoretical and observational topics. By completion of the course the participants will be fluent in the key principles and observables enabling the establishment of our cosmological model. Participants will also be able to describe in detail key observational probes of our universe and use these to differential between different cosmological models. Finally, participants be able to describe active areas of research currently being pursued by practitioners of the field.
Upon completion of the course the student is expected to be able to:
-Identify the three pillars of the hot Big Bang model, the various rungs of the extragalactic distance ladder and an understanding of the accuracy of the measurements;
-Construct an argument based on astronomical evidence that the Universe has evolved from a hot, dense state and compare the theoretical predictions to current observations;
-Describe the astronomical observations and the theoretical framework that provide the foundation for identifying the existence of dark matter and dark energy and compare the observations to alternative cosmological models;
-Present the currently favored cosmological model for the fate of the Universe, and outline the astronomical observations upon which it is based.
