Good Cosmology Books: What You Need to Know

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For learning cosmology, a solid understanding of general relativity (GR) and some quantum field theory (QFT) is essential. The discussion highlights the varying prerequisites for different cosmology texts, specifically mentioning Steven Weinberg's books. Weinberg's "Gravitation and Cosmology" (G & C) is noted as not requiring extensive QFT knowledge, making it a potential starting point for those familiar with GR at the level of Schutz. In contrast, his more recent book on cosmology may demand a stronger background in particle physics and QFT, particularly in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and electroweak theory. The consensus suggests that while foundational knowledge in particle physics is beneficial, it may not be strictly necessary for all cosmology texts, depending on the specific book chosen.
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Hello. What are some good books for learning cosmology? I know GR (At the level of Schutz) And /some/ QFT. So...How much particle physics/QFT are required for a book like Weinberg or Dodelson? Should I do my QCD and Electroweak theory and particle physics before doing cosmology?
 
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Which Weinberg? G & C or C? G & C doesn't require QFT... it's tough, but Schutz may be enough as a pre-requisite... Can't comment on C, I'm too afraid to open it :)
 
I meant his recent book on Cosmology.
 
The book is fascinating. If your education includes a typical math degree curriculum, with Lebesgue integration, functional analysis, etc, it teaches QFT with only a passing acquaintance of ordinary QM you would get at HS. However, I would read Lenny Susskind's book on QM first. Purchased a copy straight away, but it will not arrive until the end of December; however, Scribd has a PDF I am now studying. The first part introduces distribution theory (and other related concepts), which...
I've gone through the Standard turbulence textbooks such as Pope's Turbulent Flows and Wilcox' Turbulent modelling for CFD which mostly Covers RANS and the closure models. I want to jump more into DNS but most of the work i've been able to come across is too "practical" and not much explanation of the theory behind it. I wonder if there is a book that takes a theoretical approach to Turbulence starting from the full Navier Stokes Equations and developing from there, instead of jumping from...

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