An introduction to the science of cosmology

An introduction to the science of cosmology by Derek Raine and Ted Thomas is a concise cosmology textbook aimed at undergrauates, without assuming a background knowledge of astrophysics. The book falls roughly into three parts. The first part describes the observations which cosmologists have to make sense of. These include the redshift indicating the expansion of the universe, the 'missing matter' problem in galaxy dynamics, and the cosmological microwave background radiation. The second part introduces general relativity, and shows how this can be used to model the universe. There are also descriptions of the experimental tests which can be used to choose between such models.

The last part of the book applies such models to the real universe, and in particular its early stages. Thus there is a description the Hot Big Bang, with the origin of elementary particles, followed by a chapter on the theory of inflation. the book ends with a look at the evolution of large scale structure in the universe.

Naturally a textbook such as this needs the reader to have some mathematical experience, but if you know a bit about differential equations then this won't be a challenge, and the first part of the book needs less mathematics. The book has problems set at the end of each chapter, and looks suitalbe for those wishing to learn cosmology in independent study. It's a short book, but I feel that anyone who has followed it will be well placed to understand much current cosmological research.