Zoltan Haiman

Physical Cosmology is one of those classes about which students have mixed feelings. Zoltan is a fairly good professor in terms of organization and is beyond liberal in assigning letter grades, and he's been teaching this course for a while, but I suspect there's plenty of room for improvement in this class. The content of the class is very interesting, and if you read the textbook (Ryden), you'll find it very engaging and at times hilarious. Ryden is comfortable yet rigorous, an absolute joy to read, and the only reason I passed. Note that you're studying the whole universe at once, so be prepared for some distance from reality. But also be prepared for some truly awesome physics. Make sure you're prepared for this class -- if you haven't had a calculus course or some introductory physics, a good two thirds of the material, especially formula derivations, will not make any sense to you. It's also probably a good idea to take Intro to Astrophysics (C2001-2) beforehand, even though it's technically not a prerequisite. Now onto the negatives. Prof. Haiman is a very smart man, and the structure was all there, but I think sometimes his expectations of us students were confused with those he has of the graduate version of this course -- and his tendency to speak softly, while endearing, can often be a soporific to an overworked college student. At the same time, a lot of the class…

Overview of GR(very slow if you have had previous GR experience), FRW-Cosmology, Thermal history of the universe, Inflation, and last lecture-ish on linear perturbations to the metric.

I learned about some of the biggest papers in astronomy history. It was very cool to actually read and discuss papers that I'd always heard referenced but never actually seen.

Six problem sets every two weeks or so (start these *early*, use the textbook, and work with fellow classmates) (40%), an in-class midterm (20%) and a 10-problem final (30%).

We read seminal papers on a variety of topics and learned how to effectively read a paper, ask questions, and present on and host a discussion about a paper.

This course feels a little rushed overall, but it does cover so much and is a great introductory.

The course was easily moved online because it was a small group and was presentation driven. Would certainly recommend for anyone interested in astronomy. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2021 Course: ASTRGR9002_001_2021_1-GRADUATESEMINAR : ASTRGR9002_001_2021_1 - GRADUATE SEMINAR Instructor: Zoltan Haiman

It was a good overview. I think might have gotten more out of the physic departments offered version. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2024 Course: ASTRGR6014_001_2024_3-Cosmology,BlackHoles,andGravity : ASTRGR6014_001_2024_3 - Cosmology, Black Holes, and Gravity Instructor: Zoltan Haiman