Fundamental Questions of Practical Cosmology: Exploring the Realm of Galaxies (Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 383)

This book guides readers (astronomers, physicists, and university students) through central questions of Practical Cosmology, a term used by the late Allan Sandage to denote the modern scientific endeavor to find the cosmological model best describing the universe of galaxies, its geometry, size, age, and matter composition. The authors draw on their personal experience in astrophysics and cosmology to explain key concepts of cosmology, both observational and theoretical, and to highlight several items which give cosmology its special character. These highlighted items are: Ideosyncratic features of the “cosmic laboratory”, Malmquist bias in the determination of cosmic distances, Theory of gravitation as a cornerstone of cosmological models, Crucial tests for checking the reality of space expansion, Methods of analyzing the structures of the universe as mapped by galaxies, Usefulness of fractals as a model to describe the large-scale structure and new cosmological physics inherent in the Friedmann world model. This book guides readers (astronomers, physicists, and university students) through central questions of Practical Cosmology, a term used by the late Allan Sandage to denote the modern scientific endeavor to find the cosmological model best describing the universe of galaxies, its geometry, size, age, and matter composition. The authors draw on their personal experience in astrophysics and cosmology to explain key concepts of cosmology, both observational and theoretical, and to highlight several items which give cosmology its special character. These highlighted items are: - Idiosyncratic features of the "cosmic laboratory"--Malmquist bias in the determination of cosmic distances - Theory of gravitation as a cornerstone of cosmological models - Crucial tests for checking the reality of space expansion - Methods of analyzing the structures of the universe as mapped by galaxies - Usefulness of fractals as a model to describe the large-scale structure - New cosmological physics inherent in the Friedmann world model Front Matter....Pages I-XVI The Golden Age of Cosmological Physics....Pages 1-17 Distance Measurement and Cosmography....Pages 19-45 Cosmic Distances and Selection Biases....Pages 47-68 Cosmological Redshift and the Distance Scale....Pages 69-89 Gravitational Physics for Cosmic Scales....Pages 91-110 Predictions of Gravity Theories....Pages 111-130 The Friedmann Model....Pages 131-155 Classical Cosmological Tests....Pages 157-180 Constructing Universes: A Gallery of Ideas....Pages 181-212 Large-Scale Structure: Methods of Analysis....Pages 213-245 The Inhomogeneous Galaxy Universe: Observational Results....Pages 247-270 Some Outstanding Problems of Cosmological Physics....Pages 271-291 Back Matter....Pages 293-332 Annotation This book examines surface rainfall processes through cloud-resolving modeling and quantitative analysis of surface rainfall budget, and summarizes modeling and analysis results over seven years. Includes a set of diagnostic precipitation equations