Physics 3368

Professor Olness

Astrophysics & Cosmology: Fall 2003

• Lecturer: Professor Fredrick Olness
• Homework
• Regrade Policy
• Standard Disclaimer
• Mathematica Courseware
• Solutions for Quizzes &Exams
  

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• Office hours: 103A Fondren Science and by appointment
• Contact:
• Call or leave a message at (214) 768-2500, or
• Leave a note in the Physics Department Office - 106 Fondren Science, or
• send me e-mail: olness@mail.physics.smu.edu
• Special:
• Mathematica for symbolic and numerical problem solving
• Course Text:
• Introduction to Cosmology;   by Barbara Sue Ryden
  Publisher: Pearson Addison Wesley; 1st edition (October 8, 2002),
  ISBN: 0805389121
• Extracurricular Activities:
• SPS - The Society of Physics Students
• Undergraduate Physics Research Positions
• Relevant Web Sites:
• Fermilab or Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - home of the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Tevatron. Scientists from across the U.S. and around the world use Fermilab's resources in experiments to explore the most fundamental particles and forces of nature.

Initial plan for the course:

• Video: A Brief History of Time. S. Hawking
• Flatland. (Particularly Sec.II)
• Powers of 10 Video
• Mr. Tompkins:
• Ch.3. & 4: Curved Space
• Ch.5: Pulsating Universes
• The First 3 Minutes: S. Weinberg
• Cosmology: S. Ryden
• Superstrings. M. Green

Some topics we will cover:

• Stars, Galaxies, our universe
• The Big Bang
• Space-Time, Special Relativity
• Curved Space
• General Relativity
• Black Holes
• Topology, and Asteroids video game
• Gauss-Bonnet Theorem
• Euler Number
• 4-Dimensional Space
• 4-Color Problem
• Konigsberg Bridge Problem
• Orientable and Non-orientiable surfaces
• Cylinder
• Mobius Strip
• Klein Bottle
• Symmetries: Parity, Time reversal
• Superstrings, M-Branes

Primary References:

• Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation. by Michael V. Berry; ISBN: 0852740379.
  
  
• Mr Tompkins in Paperback, by George Gamow; Cambridge Univ Pr. ISBN: 0521447712.
  
A classic! Provides an intuitive introduction to relativity, cosmology, quantum mechanics, and more.


• The First Three Minutes : A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe. by Steven Weinberg, Basic Books; ISBN: 0465024378.
  
A non-technical introduction to cosmology and the origins of the universe.


• Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimension. by Edwin A. Abbott, Dover; ISBN: 0-486-27263-X.
  
A classic.

Other References:

• Foundations of Moden Cosmology, by John F. Hawley, Katherine A. Holcomb; ISBN: 0195104978 .
  
An excellent non-technical introduction. No equations.


• The Shape of Space : How to Visualize Surfaces and Three-Dimensional Manifolds, by Jeffrey R. Weeks; Marcel Dekker; ISBN: 082477437X.
  
A wonderful book that helps us visualize higher dimensional curved spaces and nontrivial topologies.


• How Surfaces Intersect in Space: An Introduction to Topology  by J. Scott Carter; ISBN: 981-02-1050-7.
  
Wonderful illustrations introducing basic topological concepts.


• A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking, Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub, ISBN: 0553380168.
  
  
• One Two Three...Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science by George Gamow; Dover Pub; ISBN: 0486256642.
  
From the micro to the macro.