The Early Universe: Facts and Fiction

Astronomy and Astrophysics Library

by Gerhard Börner

This fourth edition of Börner's "The Early Universe" is practically a new book, not just updated version. In particular, it is now organized so as to make it more useful as a textbook. And problem sections are also added. In the centre are the connections between particle physics and The standard model, some basic implications of quantum field theory and the questions of structure formation. Special emphasis is given to the observed anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background and the consequences drawn for cosmology and for the structure formation models. Nuclear and particle physicists and astrophysicists, researchers and teachers as well as graduate students will welcome this new edition of a classic text and reference.

604 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[فرهاد ذکاوت · Rating 5 out of 5]

In fact such a book can not be started and finished as we do for many books in different genres. In this way I have to continue referring to this book time to time. My courses' contents was covered almost completely. Main 3 main sections are still in use by some other latter physicists who wrote similar books.
First of all, this book can not be compared to Narlikar, Ryden, dodelson and others. Dodelson which I had to refer and study for Astroparticle cosmology, does not cover high energy astroparticle cosmology. To give readers an example, when I complain FRW in a boundary condition, i.e, why we do not consider neutrinos in some early universe conditions, Narlikar and Dodelson can not say any more due to their academic approach for courses focused on general relativity and solutions of Einstein Equations and non-relativistic CMB studies. Considering high energy, Particle physics, strong interactions, weak reactions in strong interactions, and so on, Even legendary Steven Weinberg does not cover what is present brilliantly in Borner's book. And all of them have some particular goal.

I consider The Early Universe in a higher level for all Specified professional courses and Phd studies when they want study a whole picture in the presence of standard Model of Particles and beyond standard model which I mentioned are not in the scope of those books. They are in a way classical comparing to this book. Borner's book contains:

Part 1: Standard Big-Bang Model (exactly fits Observational Cosmology courses).

Part 2: Particle Physics and cosmology (Gauge theories, GUT, Relic Particles from the Early universe, Baryon Synthesis, The Inflationary universe). And this second part fits exactly to Astroparticle Cosmology, which mistakenly or by laziness of some people represented in a classical very narrow ideas of this context.

Part 3: Dark Matter and Galaxy: CMB, and perturbations, Structure formation. This part is the main goal for those professors whose work on these subjects, as I experienced in my master and my particle cosmology questions even bothered the professor when I could stop and study unrealistic classical models which actually work nice, but not exactly what they are supposed to be!

Last Word for those advanced master students and phds'. This book is exceptional. All new authors are tried just part of the context, or important classical views. (by classical I mean, non-standard model of particles studies such as GR, non-relativistic radiations, non-neutrino models and so on). But it does not mean that other books are not fitted for professional studies; they have another topics to cover. If you are the one who work on contents covered by those books, they are your professional references and this one can be an additional, extended material.

The Early Universe is a unique reference which I doubt other books can be the same or better. Very careful, exciting and professional content, I have studied, researchers can use for their studies as a fruitful and cutting-edge textbook. The book republished in 2005, and my review is related to this edition.