Particle Physics of the Early Universe
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate physics course connecting particle physics to cosmology. Topics run from general relativity and standard big bang cosmology through thermodynamics of the early universe, cosmic microwave background radiation, and primordial nucleosynthesis, then into particle theory: the standard model, electroweak and QCD phase transitions, group theory basics, and grand unified theories. Later sessions cover baryon asymmetry, monopoles, cosmic strings, domain walls, axions, the inflationary universe, and structure formation. Materials include lecture notes and problem sets from MIT's Department of Physics, free to access with no enrollment fee. The course assumes familiarity with quantum field theory and general relativity, aiming at students who want to see how particle theory explains the universe's largest-scale structure and earliest moments. No certificate is offered; this is a self-study version of an MIT graduate seminar.