Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure

This textbook provides graduate students with a thorough and up-to-date introduction to inflationary cosmology. Enormous progress has been made in this area in the last few years and this book is the first to provide a modern and unified overview. It covers all aspects 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 to develop a thorough understanding. With the host of international experiments currently being performed and planned for the near future (including NASA's MAP satellite, and the European Space Agency's Planck mission), inflationary cosmology promises to be one of the most exciting and fruitful topics of research in science in the next decade. This book provides graduate students with the ideal introduction.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. The hot Big Bang cosmology; 3. Inflation; 4. The simplest model for the origin of structure I; 5. The simplest model for the origin of structure II; 6. Extensions to the smplest model; 7. Scalar fields and the vacuum fluctuation; 8. Building and testing models of inflation; 9. The cosmic microwave background; 10. Galaxy motions and clustering; 11. The Quasi-Linear regime; 12. Putting observations together; 13. Outlook for the future; 14. Advanced topic: cosmological Perturbation theory; 15. Advanced topic: diffusion and free streaming; Index.

Review :
'... clearly written and will be very useful to students, providing a very valuable entry to the literature [in this] fast-developing field'. Professor Neil Turok, University of Cambridge '... a detailed and well-written description of inflationary theory and its implications for the theory of formation of the large scale structure of the universe ... a must for those who want to study modern cosmology.' Professor Andrei Linde, Stanford University 'Both Liddle and Lyth have been active contributors to important developments in the fields if inflation and large-scale structure for well over a decade. their depth of knowledge and expertise provide a rock-solid foundation for this book, which is carefully constructed, well-written, well-organised, and crystal clear in its presentation of what can appear to be a complex and broad range of topics. The book is ideal for an advanced undergraduate or graduate course in cosmology that focuses on inflation and large-scale structure. A series of problems is presented at the end of each of its 15 chapters. In sum, Liddle and Lyth have produced a highly focused, fantastically useful book ... Inflation and large-scale structure are fast-moving, rapidly developing fields, yet the basics are unlikely to change in the near future. Thus, the fundamental concepts and constructs presented in this book should be useful to students and practitioners in the field for many years to come.' Ruth A. Daly, Physics Today 'Lyth and Liddle are two well-known researchers in cosmology. Now they [have written a] book on Cosmological inflation and large-scale structure, which represents a carefully collected overview about this quickly developing subject. This book really fills a gap, and it is highly recommended both for students and researchers in cosmology.' Hans-Jurgen Schmidt, Zentralblatt fur Mathematik ' ... since I received the book to review it never has left my desk. Eventually I forgot I had promised to review it, but I actually used it nearly every day. Whether you're cramming for your exams, solving your first PhD problem in inflationary cosmology, or trying to find a way to outdo inflation this is an excellent book which I could not recommend more.' Joao Magueijo, General Relativity and Gravitation