Astrophysics II
MIT OpenCourseWare's advanced astrophysics course covers galactic dynamics and the large-scale structure of the universe. Topics include galaxy formation and evolution, cosmology, structure formation, the cosmic microwave background, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and the thermal history of the universe. Materials include lecture notes, problem sets, and readings drawn from MIT's Department of Physics curriculum, letting students work through the mathematical treatment of cosmological models and structure growth at their own pace. No enrollment or certificate is offered; the course is published as open courseware for self-study, aimed at students who already have a background in general relativity and statistical mechanics. It builds on an introductory astrophysics course and assumes comfort with the physics of stellar and galactic systems before tackling the universe at cosmological scales.