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Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure

This is a textbook which looks at models of the universe with an inflationary phase due to a scalar field. It examines how such models can be used to account for the structure we see now, that is the cosmological microwave background and the clustering of galaxies. Its approach is analytic rather than being based on numerical simulations, and it's impressive how much can be achieved with this approach. It would suit graduate students, and possibly those at an advanced undergraduate level - it is laid out as a textbook which the student can work through, rather than being a collection of research papers

I would say that anyone using this book would need a sound grasp of most undergraduate level mathematical physics. Its a wide ranging subject, firstly because it starts from cosmology, but then adds on the complication of interacting matter (rather than 'dust'). Secondly, it looks at both models of the behaviour of the early universe, and observations of the universe today.

Chapter 12 gives a non-mathematical, (but still technical) summary of the subject and chapter 13 comprises a couple of pages looking at future possibilities. The last two chapters contain material which is more advanced than the rest of the book.

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Hardcover 400 pages
ISBN: 052166022X
Salesrank: 1991031
Weight:1.85 lbs

Published: 2000 Cambridge University Press

Amazon price $134.00

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Amazon.co.uk info

Hardcover 400 pages
ISBN: 052166022X
Salesrank: 2195644
Weight:1.85 lbs

Published: 2000 Cambridge University Press

Amazon price £71.25

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Amazon.ca info

Hardcover 400 pages
ISBN: 052166022X
Salesrank: 945670
Weight:1.85 lbs

Published: 2000 Cambridge University Press

Amazon price CDN$ 88.80

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 88.80:Used from CDN$ 123.27

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Product Description
Enormous progress has been made in inflationary cosmology in the past few years and this book is the first to provide a modern and unified overview of the subject. Coverage examines every aspect of inflationary cosmology and carefully compares predictions with the latest observations, including those of the cosmic microwave background, the clustering and velocities of galaxies and the epoch of structure formation. Problems are included throughout to help the student develop a thorough understanding. An ideal introduction to what promises to be one of the most fruitful topics of research in science in the next decade, this volume will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers in astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, theoretical physics and applied mathematics.

Product Description

Enormous progress has been made in inflationary cosmology in the past few years and this book is the first to provide a modern and unified overview of the subject. Coverage examines every aspect of inflationary cosmology and carefully compares predictions with the latest observations, including those of the cosmic microwave background, the clustering and velocities of galaxies and the epoch of structure formation. Problems are included throughout to help the student develop a thorough understanding. An ideal introduction to what promises to be one of the most fruitful topics of research in science in the next decade, this volume will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers in astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, theoretical physics and applied mathematics.

An excellent textbook *****
For those readers looking for a serious textbook on cosmological inflation, this is it!But of course, they should beware that it is fully technical, and has nothing to do with Andrew Liddle's small book, "An Introduction to Modern Cosmology". This is the real stuff, written by two experts who were instrumental in the development of the "slow-roll inflation" paradigm, and summing up all the latest developments in modern cosmology. Starting with a small introduction about the hot Big Bang, the authors go on to an in-depth treatment of inflation and its consequences. The simplest model is then exposed and developed into its extensions, such as the Lambda-CDM model, the currently accepted model of inflationary cosmology. Needless to say, the book offers also a fairly detailed treatment of the CMB and its anisotropies, acoustic oscillations and perturbation theory, and the CMB power spectrum, which are the latest tools in cosmological research. However, those who are looking for a complete treatment of CMB anisotropies will not find it here.They could turn, for instance, to many articles on arxiv, e.g.the one by Ruth Durrer (astro-ph/0109522)which develops this subject in more detail. All in all, this book by Liddle and Lyth will probably serve as a textbook on cosmology for the coming ten years.

An excellent textbook *****

For those readers looking for a serious textbook on cosmological inflation, this is it!But of course, they should beware that it is fully technical, and has nothing to do with Andrew Liddle's small book, "An Introduction to Modern Cosmology". This is the real stuff, written by two experts who were instrumental in the development of the "slow-roll inflation" paradigm, and summing up all the latest developments in modern cosmology.
Starting with a small introduction about the hot Big Bang, the authors go on to an in-depth treatment of inflation and its consequences. The simplest model is then exposed and developed into its extensions, such as the Lambda-CDM model, the currently accepted model of inflationary cosmology.
Needless to say, the book offers also a fairly detailed treatment of the CMB and its anisotropies, acoustic oscillations and perturbation theory, and the CMB power spectrum, which are the latest tools in cosmological research.
However, those who are looking for a complete treatment of CMB anisotropies will not find it here.They could turn, for instance, to many articles on arxiv, e.g.the one by Ruth Durrer (astro-ph/0109522)which develops this subject in more detail.
All in all, this book by Liddle and Lyth will probably serve as a textbook on cosmology for the coming ten years.

Excellent textbook for understanding inflationary cosmology. *****
This is a careful and pedagogical introduction to the subject of cosmology. Every chapter has examples and hints. Explanation does not begin from the first principles. However there are two chapters in the end of the book where important formulae for cosmology are derived step by step from the first principles. These two chapters require a bit more knowledge in math than rest of the book. This textbook also contains an excellent combination of math and physics that it is easy to understand physics and not to be lost in the math. It also teaches how to carry out calculation, where to begin from, namely physical factors that affect further calculations. There is no reason to hesitate. It is necessary to buy it for a good understanding cosmology.

Excellent textbook for understanding inflationary cosmology. *****

This is a careful and pedagogical introduction to the subject of cosmology. Every chapter has examples and hints. Explanation does not begin from the first principles. However there are two chapters in the end of the book where important formulae for cosmology are derived step by step from the first principles. These two chapters require a bit more knowledge in math than rest of the book. This textbook also contains an excellent combination of math and physics that it is easy to understand physics and not to be lost in the math. It also teaches how to carry out calculation, where to begin from, namely physical factors that affect further calculations. There is no reason to hesitate. It is necessary to buy it for a good understanding cosmology.

A mess of a book, but still very useful. *****
This book is a total mess. Lots of errors in the equations. The notation is somehow inconsistent. The authors switch between regular time and conformal time, Fourier series and integrals, etc. Instead of progressing in order, the authors cover the subject in a back-and-forth way that drives me crazy! Still this is very useful compendium of information on Inflationary Theory, at a graduate to professional level. A future edition, more up-to-date, with the errors corrected and a more consistent notation would be a masterpiece. Provided Inflation withstands the test of time (it is doing fine for now!) Five stars because of the reasonable price!

A mess of a book, but still very useful. *****

This book is a total mess. Lots of errors in the equations. The notation is somehow inconsistent. The authors switch between regular time and conformal time, Fourier series and integrals, etc. Instead of progressing in order, the authors cover the subject in a back-and-forth way that drives me crazy! Still this is very useful compendium of information on Inflationary Theory, at a graduate to professional level. A future edition, more up-to-date, with the errors corrected and a more consistent notation would be a masterpiece. Provided Inflation withstands the test of time (it is doing fine for now!)

Five stars because of the reasonable price!

Concise, modern and lucid: pretty good *****
This is a nice book that introduces all of the basic material for inflation. I found that most of it can be found elsewhere (eg. in Peacock's book), and it isn't necessarily any more comprehensive in Liddle & Lyth, because the pace of exposition is slow. However, it's worth buying for the insights the authors give, for the careful treatment of cosmological perturbation theory and gauge choice, and because it is approached from an explicitly supersymmetric direction. (There is no technical information about supersymmetry, however, and if you are after a book on supersymmetric cosmology, then you will have to look elsewhere. I think Peter D'Eath has a book of this sort, published by CUP.) There is a "beyond the slow roll approximation" section, which is good, and the chapter of inflationary model building is the best I have seen.The level of mathematics is pretty much nil, anyone with basic algebra could cope. Other points of interest are that (1) the authors develop all spectra (power spectrum, spectrum of tensor perturbations etc.) from what they call the "curvature perturbation", which is new to me, although there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with it, (2) the section on large-scale structure (Press-Schecter et. al.) which is included, and (3) the fact that the bibliography gives eprint numbers for the quoted papers. A minor downside is a small amount of forward referencing. It's concise, modern and lucid, and the website has up-to-date info. Excellent.

Concise, modern and lucid: pretty good *****

This is a nice book that introduces all of the basic material for inflation. I found that most of it can be found elsewhere (eg. in Peacock's book), and it isn't necessarily any more comprehensive in Liddle & Lyth, because the pace of exposition is slow. However, it's worth buying for the insights the authors give, for the careful treatment of cosmological perturbation theory and gauge choice, and because it is approached from an explicitly supersymmetric direction. (There is no technical information about supersymmetry, however, and if you are after a book on supersymmetric cosmology, then you will have to look elsewhere. I think Peter D'Eath has a book of this sort, published by CUP.) There is a "beyond the slow roll approximation" section, which is good, and the chapter of inflationary model building is the best I have seen.The level of mathematics is pretty much nil, anyone with basic algebra could cope. Other points of interest are that (1) the authors develop all spectra (power spectrum, spectrum of tensor perturbations etc.) from what they call the "curvature perturbation", which is new to me, although there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with it, (2) the section on large-scale structure (Press-Schecter et. al.) which is included, and (3) the fact that the bibliography gives eprint numbers for the quoted papers. A minor downside is a small amount of forward referencing. It's concise, modern and lucid, and the website has up-to-date info. Excellent.

Andrew Liddle and David Lyth

Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure