English

Observational Cosmology

Astrophysics 2015-06-24 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Theory

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.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0402065,
  title  = {Observational Cosmology},
  author = {R. H. Sanders},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0402065},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

35 pages, 13 figures, talk given at Second Aegean Summer School on the Early Universe