Observational Cosmology
arXiv:astro-ph/0402065 · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-31535-3_4
Abstract
I discuss the classical cosmological tests-- angular size-redshift, flux-redshift, and galaxy number counts-- in the light of the cosmology prescribed by the intepretation of CMB anisotropies. The discussion is somewhat of a primer for physicists, with emphasis upon the possible systematic uncertainties in the observations and their interpretation. Given the curious composition of the Universe inherent in the emerging cosmological model, I stress the value of searching for inconsistencies rather than concordance, and suggest that the prevailing mood of triumphalism in cosmology is premature.
35 pages, 13 figures, talk given at Second Aegean Summer School on the Early Universe
References in corpus (7)
- First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Determination of Cosmological Parameters
- Cosmological Results from High-z Supernovae
- Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) First Year Observations: TE Polarization
- First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Interpretation of the TT and TE Angular Power Spectrum Peaks
- The Hubble Constant from the Gravitational Lens B1608+656
- Hiding relativistic degrees of freedom in the early universe
- Large-scale structure and matter in the universe