The Early Universe: Facts and Fiction [Hardcover]

This fourth edition of B?rner's The Early Universe is practically a new book, not just updated version. In particular, it is now organized so as to make it more useful as a textbook. And problem sections are also added. In the centre are the connections between particle physics and cosmology: The standard model, some basic implications of quantum field theory and the questions of structure formation. Special emphasis is given to the observed anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background and the consequences drawn for cosmology and for the structure formation models. Nuclear and particle physicists and astrophysicists, researchers and teachers as well as graduate students will welcome this new edition of a classic text and reference.Fourteen years is a long time, and especially in the field of cosmology new observational results and new theoretical ideas seem to appear at a steadily increasing rate. It is achallenge to try to review the current status, to give a reasonably fair account of new developments, and not to increase the size of the book out of all proportion. So this fourth edition is practically a new book, with many chapters and sections newly written, not just updated. I have kept the original layout of the book with three parts concerned with (I) the standard model, (II) some basic implications of quantum field theory, and (III) quest ions of structure formation. I have given special emphasis to the new observations of the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background, and attempted to explain their importance for cosmology as well as for structure formation models. There have also been improved measurements in almost every cosmologically relevant field, from the Rubble constant to element abundances and galaxy distribution statistics. Quite surprisingly, the standard cosmological models can still accommodate all these new obser? vations.I. The Standard Big-Bang Model.- 1. The Cosmological Models.- 2. Facts  Observations of Cosmological SignificalÓ*