The Physics of Cosmology

The Physics of Cosmology aims to adopt the many valuable lessons gleaned from the most recent observations measuring, stretching, dissecting and collating the myriad pieces of data informing our overall view of the cosmos, in order to comprehensively update the fundamental underpinnings of theoretical cosmology. This book presents modern advances in the field, especially in the face of much higher precision measurements at all redshifts, such as in the early Universe, where the James Webb Space Telescope has been revolutionizing our view of cosmic evolution. These discoveries reveal significant defects in the theoretically unmotivated assumptions characterizing the spacetime metric used to interpret the data, which this book analyzes methodically and self-consistently to arrive at a more complete and accurate standard model of the Universe. From chapters on the Early Universe to the Semi-Classical Universe, The Physics of Cosmology is a valuable new resource that showcases the principal players and contributions in this field. Characterized by clarity of material and coverage of current topics, students and researchers working in general relativity and astrophysics will find it a useful introduction to the most up-to-date research in cosmology. Given how much the field has evolved over the last decade, and how rapidly it continues to change, the book's material is original and timely to aid in students' comprehension and instructors' lessons.