Cosmological thermodynamics

Cosmology (Winter, 2013)

Lecture Playlist

  1. The expanding (Newtonian) universe

  2. Matter and radiation dominated universes

  3. Geometries of space: flat, spherical, hyperbolic

  4. Cosmological thermodynamics

  5. Vacuum energy

  6. Dark matter and allocation of energy density

  7. Temperature history of the universe

  8. Baryogenesis

  9. Inflation

  10. Inhomogeneities and quantum fluctuations

February 4, 2013

The time-time component of Einstein's field equations for general relativity relate energy density to the geometry of space.  Using this energy density, Professor Susskind presents the thermodynamic equation of state which relates the energy density to pressure.  He uses this equation to derive how the density of the universe relates to the scale factor for matter- and radiation-dominated universes, and gives a brief preview of how dark energy affects this analysis.

References