Cosmology 2

The course aims at providing the students with: (a) the theoretical background to describe the physics of the growth of density fluctuations and the formation of structure in the Universe; (b) the knowledge of experimental results and the statistical tools that allow us to test this theory and constrain its fundamental parameters, in particular using observations of the large-scale distribution of galaxies.

At the end of the course, the student will achieve:
1. Expertise with the observations, the morphology and the statistical properties of the large-scale distribution of galaxies, the measurements of anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background and the overall state-of-the-art in this field.
2. Ability to characterize the observed inhomogeneities both in terms of two-point correlation functions and in terms of Fourier components and power spectrum, with knowledge of the standard estimators used to measure them from real samples; he will also know how to connect these to the theoretical description of density fluctuations in the matter, considered as a continuous field.
3. Knowledge of the linear equation of growth of density perturbations in the expanding Universe, of its derivation in the Newtonian approximation and its solutions in the cases of relativistic and non-relativistic matter.
4. Comprehension of the growth history of cosmological perturbations during the various evolutionary phases of the Universe, and how this generates the spectrum and the specific spectral features we observe today in the CMB and in the galaxy distribution.
5. Comprehension of the existence of a non-baryonic (dark) matter component with specific properties, as a necessary ingredient to make sense to the overall picture.
6. The ability of contribute autonomously to original research work in the study of large-scale structure and tests of the standard cosmological model