Prerequisites

This course builds on material from the Part II Relativity course, although with a different emphasis and approach, and detailed tensor calculus manipulations will in general not be needed.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment

This course describes the structure and composition of the Universe. It explores the formation of structures and their nature across all scales, from planets and stars to galaxies and the Universe as a whole. Students will gain an understanding of the leading models of planet and star formation, as well as galaxy evolution and observational cosmology. They will examine key observational discoveries that test and refine these models. The course covers cutting-edge topics in astrophysical research, including current gaps in our understanding and the challenges facing existing theories.

Synopsis

First lecture: astrophysics today; fundamental forces and particles in the Universe; observational techniques (telescopes, spectroscopy, and space missions).

Introduction to cosmology: FLRW metric, Friedmann–Lemaître equations, observational cosmology, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).

Introduction to stars and planets, stellar evolution, exoplanet detection and characterizations.

Structure formation in the early Universe: perturbation theory, linearised fluid equations, origin and early growth of density perturbations, Jeans analysis, transfer function, imprint on the CMB.

Formation of the first structures: non-linear collapse, relaxation, Press-Schechter theory, halo mass functions, heating and cooling of baryonic gas, formation of first stars and black holes

Protoplanetary disks: gas in the disk, spectral energy distribution, disk classification, disk structure, Hydrostatic equilibrium, Momentum conservation.

Planet formation: the exoplanets revolution, core accretion model, decoupling of gas and grains, planetesimals, planet cores, disk-limited gas accretion rate, gap formation, torque and migration.

Formation of galaxies: the high-redshift universe, disk galaxies, elliptical galaxies, star formation and feedback in galaxies, supermassive black holes, cosmic web.

References

Recommended Books

Galaxy Formation and Evolution, Mo, van den Bosch & White (Cambridge University Press)

Introduction to Galaxy Formation and Evolution: From Primordial Gas to Present-Day Galaxies, Cimatti, Fraternali & Nipoti (Cambridge University Press)

The Little Book of Exoplanets, 2023, by Joshua N. Winn (Princeton University Press)