Cosmological Physics Additions
Cosmological Physics was published in 1999. Since that time, cosmological research has proceeded at an ever faster pace, and yet the basic picture painted in the book survives: we appear to live in a vacuum-dominated universe with negligible spatial curvature, in which most of the matter is dark, cold and collisionless. Thus, with the updating of key diagrams such as the supernova Hubble diagram and the CMB power spectrum at each reprint, I am happy that the book gives a quite accurate description of contemporary cosmology.
However, as progress continues, there will eventually be a strong case for making significant revisions, leading to a true second edition. As I write notes on new topics, or on major extensions of old ones, I will place them on this page in the hope of obtaining feedback. I would be very glad to hear from readers about things that should be added to the list.
John Peacock
- Large-scale structure is reviewed in these notes from the 2003 Tenerife Winter School
- Inflationary history of the scale factor and a common associated error.
- Expanding space and a debunking of some of the misconceptions generated by this dangerous idea.
- The event horizon in a vacuum dominated universe will eventually make it impossible to travel to distant parts of the universe.