http://arxiv.org/abs/1908.05042
Every cosmology lecturer these days is confronted with teaching the modern cosmological standard model $\Lambda$CDM, and there are many approaches to do this. However, the danger is imminent that it is presented to students as something set into stone, merely to be accepted as a fact based on the plenty of evidences we have. This is even more critical, given that the standard model confronts us with entities not yet fully understood, namely a cosmological constant $\Lambda$ and cold dark matter. In this article, we report on an advanced cosmology course exercise, conducted in computer lab, which was conceived as a means to have students experience first-hand why the $\Lambda$CDM model has become so prevalent in the interpretation of modern cosmological data. To this end, we focused on the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) and calculated theoretical temperature and matter power spectra, using the modern Boltzmann code CLASS. By comparing and analyzing the outcome for $\Lambda$CDM, as well as three other exotic cosmological models, the students were able to grasp the impact of cosmological parameters on CMB observables, and also to understand some of the complicated CMB physics in a direct way. Our chosen examples are not exhaustive and can be easily modified or expanded, so we express the hope that this article will serve as a valuable resource for interested students and lecturers.
T. Rindler-Daller
Thu, 15 Aug 19
22/69
Comments: subm. to European Journal of Physics; 20 pages, 5 figures
You must be logged in to post a comment.