Foundations of Modern Cosmology - Hardcover

Hawley, John F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195104978 ISBN 13: 9780195104974

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 1997

Synopsis

Modern cosmology is a topic that holds special interest for the scientist and nonscientist alike. This textbook covers the historical development and physical basis for the modern big bang theory of cosmology, and is intended to fill the gap between the many popular-level books which present cosmology in a superficial manner, or which emphasize the esoteric at the expense of the basic, and the advanced texts intended for readers with strong backgrounds in physics and mathematics. The book is self-contained, appropriate for an ancillary course, and designed to be easily accessible to anyone with a grasp of elementary algebra. Sufficient qualitative and quantitative information is presented to provide the student with a firm understanding of the basic physics that makes up the foundations of the framework for cosmology and the importance of data and observations. The text is divided into five major sections, covering the historical background, a review of the basic physics and astronomy, relativity, basic big bang theory, and current research areas including structure formation, inflation, and quantum cosmology. Review questions, key terms and an extensive glossary should make this an excellent study aid for students.

About this title

Review

Review from previous edition "Foundations of Modern Cosmology" by John F. Hawley and Katherine A. Holcomb is a welcome addition to the list of college-level astronomy textbooks for nonscience majors. [...] Hawley and Holcomb bring to their writing valuable first-hand knowledge and accomplishment in relativistic astrophysics research. Their book reflects the careful development that occurs only when a textbook is written after years of teaching the material. (Paul Shapiro, Physics Today, Vol 52, No. 5, May 1999 pg 70-73)

About the Author

John F. Hawley is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Virginia. His research interests include black holes, accretion disks, and large-scale numerical modeling of astrophysical systems. He was the 1993 recipient of the Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society for his contributions to accretion disk theory and numerical simulations. He has taught an introductory course in cosmology for undergraduates at the University of Virginia since 1989. Katherine A. Holcomb received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked on numerical simulations of a variety of physical systems, including cosmology, relativistic plasma theory, and climate. She is currently employed at the University of Virginia in research computing support.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195104978
• ISBN 13: 9780195104974
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512