An Introduction to Modern Cosmology

As a research physicist, I was interested in learning about the origin and evolution of the Universe. While visiting the MIT Undergraduate Physics course description on cosmology, it references Liddle's concise (182 pages) book as part of the suggested reading material.After spending three weeks going thru all the details of Liddle's book, I found myself much more comfortable reading the latest scientific review articles on unsolved problems in cosmology.I highly recommend Liddle's book to anyone interested in cosmology, has an undergraduate physics background and doing self-study. The first 12 very-short chapters provide the foundation necessary to understand the origin of the universe. It describes our understanding of the basic physical processes based on current observations (cosmological principle, Hubble's expansion, gravitational red shift, type and properties of particles in the universe, cosmic microwave background, nucleosynthesis). Chapter 13 and 14 discuss the concept Inflationary Universe and Big Bang; respectively. Chapter 15 provides a summary of the most important unresolved mysteries in cosmology (dark matter, dark energy, Einstein's cosmological constant).In addition, the book has 6 appendices dealing with advanced topics for those interested in details and current research. It also a nice bibliography for further learning.I benefited the exposition of this book with additional reading from Steve Weinberg's The First Three Minutes, Ta-Pei Cheng's Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology.

The author says the book summarizes a "short course" of about 20 lectures he gave in a course on Cosmology (the history and development of the universe). He states the book's emphasis is on physical intuition rather than mathematical rigor and is meant to be studied by upper level college or master's degree students in their next-to-last year. I found the book to be challenging and perhaps a bit lacking showing applications of the equations it derived. Condensing 20 lectures down to a small book is bound to leave some things missing.The book derives the Friedman Equation (the basic equation of cosmology) non-relativistically, then solves and briefly analyzes its implications for the radiation, then matter dominated, universe we live in. It also works its way backward in time toward the beginning Big Bang.I did ok understanding and solving the problems for chapters 1-10 which dealt with: Ch1-Cosmological Ideas, Ch2-Observational Overview, Ch3-Newtonian Gravity, Ch4-Geometry of the Universe, Ch5-Simple Cosmological Models, Ch6-Observational Parameters, Ch7-The Cosmological Constant, Ch8-Age of the Universe, Ch9-Density of the Universe, Ch10-The Cosmic Microwave Background.The author's mathematics in Ch11-The Early Universe, was hard to follow and problems seemed to assume more background knowledge than presented in the chapter. The mathematics in Ch12-Nucleosynthesis, was also difficult requiring a background course in nuclear physics to fully understand. Ch13 Inflation, was interesting and basically understandable. Ch14-The Initial Singularity, was presented in a general way, probably because the mathematics was beyond the scope of this book. Ch15-Final Overview, gave a nice summary.These chapters are followed by 5 Advanced Topic chapters: 1.General Relativity, 2.Distances and Luminosities, 3.Neutrino Cosmology, 4.Baryogenesis, 5.Structures. All of these require advanced knowledge in cosmology and General Relativity and were beyond my reach (at this time, anyway).I found the book to be very interesting. Perhaps more problems at the end of the chapters would have been useful in developing better understanding of the important equations and their implications. More problems rated "easy" to "hard" as some books do would be nice with not just answers, but maybe some solutions available. This would have helped a lot for a person like me doing a self-study of the topic. It for sure stimulated my interest in perhaps getting another book on the topic.

As a professional scientist (physics background) who is interested in cosmology and astronomy as a hobbyist, I have read a number of books on this topic, up through the advanced level of Dodelson's excellent "Modern Cosmology." Liddle's book stacks up very well with the "beginner to intermediate" level books for those with a technical background. I particularly like its good discussions and physical insights. If you want two good books (with useful problem sets) at this level, I would recommend this book and Barbara Ryden's "Introduction to Cosmology" without reservation.

My original review was harsh based on the poor print quality. I revised my rating because the content is exceptional. I will keep this book as a reference at my desk. I ordered a paperback version of the book. The book must have been printed just for the order. The pages are poor quality, the print is uneven, and the pages are filled with text with little margin at the top and bottom. Nevertheless, I like the book. It would have received five stars except for the physical print aspects of the book.

Very readable for an old retired physicist trying to learn cosmology

Got the second edition ..Went thru the first edition a couple of times ..Elementary but a great intro book to Cosmology ..

Excellent reference, not a casual read , quite technical, but anyone can benefit from its content if your interested in cosmology.

A good book at the right level for a junior or senior level course. I like the fact that the relativity is offered as an appendix or supplemental section at the back of the text.

I was recommended to buy the first edition of this book at Undergraduate level and enjoyed it significantly then. I am a postgraduate and have bought the 3rd edition as I am revisiting Cosmology. It has really helped my studies for years and is such a valuable book!

A very good and complete introduction to Cosmology. All the important parameters of the cosmological model are discussed both from a mathematical and observational point of view. Certainly recommanded for everyone who wants to learn more about modern cosmology .

Good book. Good subject area.

Gostei muito desse livro. É bem objetivo, num assunto envolvente. Eu recomendo o livro.

Great book for beginners... It's really the starter of cosmology...