The Primordial Density Perturbation: Cosmology, Inflation and the Origin of Structure

The origin and evolution of the primordial perturbation is the key to understanding structure formation in the earliest stages of the Universe. It carries clues to the types of physical phenomena active in that extreme high-density environment. Through its evolution, generating first the observed cosmic microwave background anisotropies and later the distribution of galaxies and dark matter in the Universe, it probes the properties and dynamics of the present Universe. This graduate-level textbook gives a thorough account of theoretical cosmology and perturbations in the early Universe, describing their observational consequences and showing how to relate such observations to primordial physical processes, particularly cosmological inflation. With ambitious observational programmes complementing ever-increasing sophistication in theoretical modelling, cosmological studies will remain at the cutting edge of astrophysical studies for the foreseeable future.

1. Overview; Part I. Relativity: 2. Special relativity; 3. General relativity; Part II. The Universe after the First Second: 4. The unperturbed Universe; 5. The primordial density perturbation; 6. Stochastic properties; 7. Newtonian perturbations; 8. General relativistic perturbations; 9. The matter distribution; 10. Cosmic microwave background anistropy; 11. Boltzmann hierarchy and polarization; 12. Isocurvature and tensor modes; Part III. Field Theory: 13. Scalar fields and gravity; 14. Internal symmetry; 15. Quantum field theory; 16. The Standard Model; 17. Supersymmetry; Part IV. Inflation and the Early Universe: 18. Slow-roll inflation; 19. More inflation paradigms; 20. Reheating and phase transitions; 21. Baryon number, CDM and dark energy; 22. Generating field perturbations at horizon exit; 23. Generating at horizon exit; 24. Generating and Si after horizon exit; 25. Slow-roll inflation and observation; Appendixes; Index.