Teaching Plan Information

1. General information

Cosmology has entered an era of precision with the establishment of the "Lambda-CDM" model as the explanation for a large number of observations on different scales in our universe.

The goal is to learn about this model, which contains ingredients beyond the so-called "standard model" of particle physics, such as dark matter and dark energy. The mechanism of inflation and the thermal history of the universe will also be studied. 

This subject, together with Cosmology II: Structure Formation in the Universe and General Relativity and Gravitational Waves, is part of the subject Cosmology and Relativity.

2. Learning results

Upon completion of this subject, the student will be able to:

• Know Hubble's law, the description of the expansion of the universe using co-moving coordinates and the measurement of distances in terms of redshift.
• Deduce the evolution of the scale factor in situations of radiation or matter dominance, or of a cosmological constant.
• Manage the different forms of the space-time metric for the three types of spatial geometries of the universe.
• Know the parameters of the Lambda-CDM cosmological model and how they are obtained from experimental observations.
• Describe the thermal history of the universe and primordial nucleosynthesis, as well as the generic conditions for the mechanisms of baryogenesis.
• State the horizon problem and know the fundamentals of inflationary theories.

3. Syllabus

I. INTRODUCTION

Scales in the universe
2. Observational properties of the universe

II. HOT BIG-BANG MODEL
3. Space-time geometry
4. Geodesics
5. Distances
6. Dynamics: Friedmann equations
7. Λ-CDM model

III. INFLATION
8. Problems of the Hot Big-Bang
9. Before the big-bang
10. The physics of inflation

IV. THERMAL HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE
11. Main picture
12. Equilibrium
13. Beyond equilibrium

4. Academic activities

• Participation and attendance to lectures, either in person or telematically.
• Case analysis, sharing and debate on the contents of the subject.
• Solving problems related to the contents of the subject.
• Practical computing classes
• Writing and submission of works.
• Production and oral presentation of works.
• Face-to-face or telematic tutoring.
• Individual study.
• Written or oral assessment tests

5. Assessment system

5. Assessment system

Assessment activities:

• Assessment of reports and written work: (30%).
• Assessment of case analysis, problem solving, questions and other activities (20%)
• Assessment of oral presentations of work: (20%).
• Assessment of the evaluation tests: (30%).

The final grade will be obtained according to the percentage assigned to each assessment activity. To pass the subject, this final grade must be equal to or higher than 5.0 and no lower than 4.0 in each of the activities.

The subject has been designed for students who attend the classroom classes and perform the assessment activities described above. However, there will also be an assessment test for those students who have not taken the evaluation activities or have not passed them.

This global assessment test will be held on the dates established by the Faculty of Sciences and will consist of an assessment of the same learning results as those in the continuous assessment tests.

6. Sustainable Development Goals

4 - Quality Education