Image: A zoomed-in region of a map of the distribution of matter made from lensing of the CMB

using ACT data, shown against the distribution of emission from dusty star forming galaxies.
From

PHYS 5505
Introduction to Cosmology

Spring 2025 with Prof. Mathew Madhavacheril

MW 1:45 - 3:15
Location DRL TBD (33rd and Walnut St.)

Office hours: TTh 3-4

How to get to my office

SYLLABUS

This course introduces students to the standard big bang cosmology and the key observations
that allow us to test it. It will cover the expanding universe, its thermal history and the study of
perturbations. It will explore observational probes of cosmology such as the cosmic microwave
background and galaxy surveys. No prior knowledge of astrophysics, cosmology, general
relativity, or particle physics will be assumed, although aspects of each will be introduced as
part of the course. The course is intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.

Prerequisites: Introductory classical, quantum and statistical mechanics

 Accommodations

It’s important to me that everyone who wants to participate has the

resources to be fully included in this course. Please let me know if you
need special accommodations in the curriculum, instruction or
assessments of this course to enable you to participate fully. I will make
every effort to maintain the confidentiality of the information you share
with me.
Penn provides reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities who
have self-identified and been approved by Student Disabilities Services (SDS). If
you have not yet contacted SDS and would like to request accommodations or
have questions, you can make an appointment by calling SDS at 215-573-9235.
The office is located in the Weingarten Learning Resources Center at Stouffer
Commons: 3702 Spruce Street, Suite 300. All services are confidential.

Topics
1. Overview, Introduction and Review of General Relativity
2. The expanding universe, distances and dark energy
3. Thermal history and recombination
4. Initial Conditions and Inflation
5. Newtonian perturbation theory and the growth of structure
6. Relativistic perturbation theory
7. CMB Anisotropies
8. Large-scale structure and baryon acoustic oscillations
9. Weak Lensing

Material

Textbook:
● Cosmology, Daniel Baumann

Evaluation

A letter grade will be assigned based on the following:

1. 70%: Homework assignments

2. 30%: Final take-home exam

COVID Precautions

In order to keep everyone as safe as we can, please respect the following precautions:
 ● Get vaccinated. This is required by Penn for all students, faculty, and staff, with few
exceptions.
● If you feel sick or were exposed to COVID, get a test if possible
● If you test positive for COVID, please do not come to class or office hours .
Specifically, please participate remotely for 5 days after a positive COVID test. Let me
know you’ll miss class by filing a Course Absence Notice, keep up with the material
online, and follow up with me to make up assignments as needed. Your grade in this
class will not be penalized for precautions to protect each other from COVID.
● You can rest assured that I will follow similar precautions if I feel sick or were
exposed to COVID or test positive for COVID. It is likely that the class will be held
remotely on Zoom if this happens.
● You are invited to wear a mask in class if you:
○ want to for any reason
○ are immunocompromised and personally at high risk
○ are in frequent close contact with someone who is high risk
○ tested positive for COVID-19 more than 5 but less than 10 days ago (if less than
5 days, please participate remotely)
○ have been exposed to someone with COVID-19
○ have recently traveled to an area with substantial or high spread of the virus
Please respect the choices of your classmates. If you feel targeted or
uncomfortable in class, speak with me.

Academic Integrity

Participants are expected to abide by the Penn Code of Academic Integrity in letter and spirit.
Scientific research is a collaborative endeavor that depends on proper acknowledgment of each
person’s contributions to a project: this holds in this course as it does in general.

Cheating and violations of academic integrity may be reported by the instructor for further
disciplinary action. The following in particular should be noted: you may discuss homework
questions with others in broad, general terms, but the work you submit should be your own.
Giving homework answers to another person or taking them from another person counts as
cheating. The homework is meant as practice for the exams, so if you take answers from
others, you are not only violating the code of academic integrity, but also making it likely that
you will perform poorly in the exams. This doesn’t mean you can’t work together; you could, for
example, solve the problems together at a blackboard, and then go back and re-do the
homework individually without copying from the blackboard.

“Creating a supportive environment to enable scientific discourse

... is the responsibility of all participants.”
American Physical Society,
Code of Conduct for APS Meetings
Fostering an inclusive atmosphere in scientific discussions is an integral part of
academic and professional ethics. Participants are expected to abide by the Penn Code of
Student Conduct during course activities, and to use the following guidelines as a standard of
behavior1:

Expected Behavior
● Be considerate, respectful, and collaborative.
● Critique ideas rather than individuals.
● Avoid personal attacks directed toward other participants.
● Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants.
● Congratulations on reading this far into the syllabus. Send me an email during
the first week of classes with the code PaleBlueDot and I will provide an
additional 1% Please do not ask for this after Week 1.
● Respect the rules and policies of our online classroom in Canvas and Zoom.
Unacceptable Behavior
● Harassment, intimidation or discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.
● Physical, verbal, or online abuse of any participant will not be tolerated.
● Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: verbal or
online comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual
orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national
origin, as well as inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images, and
threatening or stalking any participant.
● Recording or photographing another individual without their explicit permission is
not allowed.
Consequences
● Anyone requested to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply
immediately.
● The course instructor may take any action deemed necessary and appropriate,
including immediate removal from a class session or the course, or referral to
university disciplinary procedures.
Reporting Unacceptable Behavior
● If you are the subject of unacceptable behavior or have witnessed any such
behavior, please immediately notify the instructor.
● Anyone experiencing or witnessing behavior that constitutes an immediate or
serious threat to public safety should contact campus security at 215.573.3333.
Any member of the Penn community can call the Penn HELP line 2 at any time
to be connected with staff trained for mental health referrals:
215-898-HELP(4357)

1
Adapted from the Ecological Society of America meeting code of conduct.
2
https://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/safety-initiatives/help-line-215-898-help/