The third edition of this successful textbook is fully updated and includes important recent developments in cosmology. It begins with an introduction to cosmology and general relativity, and goes on to cover the mathematical models of standard cosmology. The physical aspects of cosmology, including primordial nucleosynthesis, the astroparticle physics of inflation, and the current ideas on structure formation are discussed. Alternative models of cosmology are reviewed, including the model of Quasi-Steady State Cosmology, which has recently been proposed as an alternative to Big Bang Cosmology.

Author

J. V. Narlikar, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, India

Table of Contents

Foreword Sir Fred Hoyle
Preface to the first edition
Preface to the second edition
1. The large-scale structure of the universe
2. The general theory of relativity
3. From relativity to cosmology
4. The Friedman models
5. Relics of the Big Bang
6. The very early universe
7. The formation of large scale structure of the universe
8. Alternative cosmologies
9. Cosmologies with creation of matter
10. Observational tests of cosmological significance
11. Observations of distant parts of the universe
12. A critical overview of cosmology
Table of constants
Glossary.