🌌 Cosmology — Intermediate#

Scope — Observational evidence, cosmic history, and the standard model of cosmology.

Key concepts#

• Big Bang model — framework describing the universe’s hot, dense early state and subsequent expansion.
• Cosmic microwave background (CMB) — relic radiation from the early universe.
• Large‑scale structure — galaxies arranged in filaments, clusters, and voids.

Seed Q&A triads#

• Q: What evidence supports the Big Bang model?
  A: Universal expansion, the cosmic microwave background, and primordial element abundances.

• Q: Why is the CMB considered a snapshot of the early universe?
  A: It records conditions when matter and radiation decoupled, about 380,000 years after the Big Bang.

• Q: How do galaxies trace large‑scale structure?
  A: Their distribution reveals a cosmic web shaped by gravity and early density fluctuations.

Short exercises#

• Interpret a simplified CMB temperature map and identify what small fluctuations represent.