We have learned a lot recently about how the Universe evolved in 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang. More than 80% of matter in the Universe is mysterious Dark Matter, which made stars and galaxies to form. The newly discovered Higgs-boson became frozen into the Universe a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang and brought order to the Universe. Yet we still do not know how ordinary matter (atoms) survived against total annihilation by Anti-Matter. The expansion of the Universe started acceleration about 7 billion years ago and the Universe is being ripped apart. The culprit is Dark Energy, a mysterious energy multiplying in vacuum. I will present evidence behind these startling discoveries and discuss what we may learn in the near future.
This course is offered in English.
From the Big Bang to Dark Energy
Offered By
The University of Tokyo
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1From Daily Life to the Big Bang
Understanding the Universe in which we live and how to probe it can begin with simple daily life experiences such as night and day and the four seasons. Starting from these observations, we will take a journey from our local Earth at the present time all the way to the edge of the universe and back to its birth, learning the techniques and findings in modern physics that provide us this understanding.
12 videos (Total 95 min), 3 readings, 14 quizzes
12 videos
Introduction8m
1-1 Night and Day, and Four Seasons9m
1-2 Revolution of the Earth5m
1-3 Why Elliptic?8m
1-4 Why Does Everything Fall the Same Way?8m
1-5 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past I13m
1-6 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past II5m
1-7 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past III6m
1-8 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past IV8m
1-9 Beginning of the Universe Look Far into the Past V10m
1-10 Cosmic Expansion6m
3 readings
Course Description10m
Syllabus10m
About Optional Challenge Problems10m
14 practice exercises
Practice Quiz 1-12m
Practice Quiz 1-22m
Graded Quiz 1-14m
Practice Quiz 1-34m
Practice Quiz 1-42m
Graded Quiz 1-24m
Practice Quiz 1-52m
Practice Quiz 1-62m
Practice Quiz 1-72m
Practice Quiz 1-82m
Practice Quiz 1-92m
Practice Quiz 1-102m
Graded Quiz 1-36m
Optional Challenge Problem 110m
Week
2Birth of Elements and Higgs Boson
We are made of chemical elements. So one of the fundamental questions “where do we come from?” leads to another question: “how were elements born?”. This is related to the Higgs Boson, an important particle in answering this question which remained elusive until its discovery was recently announced on July 4, 2012. In this module, we will learn recent research outcomes on these topics.
9 videos (Total 97 min), 11 quizzes
9 videos
2-2 Birth of Elements II11m
2-3 Birth of Elements III6m
2-4 Birth of Elements IV9m
2-5 Birth of Elements V14m
2-6 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe I7m
2-7 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe II13m
2-8 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe III15m
2-9 Higgs Boson Frozen into the Universe IV12m
11 practice exercises
Practice Quiz 2-12m
Practice Quiz 2-22m
Practice Quiz 2-32m
Practice Quiz 2-42m
Practice Quiz 2-52m
Graded Quiz 2-16m
Practice Quiz 2-62m
Practice Quiz 2-72m
Practice Quiz 2-82m
Practice Quiz 2-92m
Graded Quiz 2-28m
Week
3Dark Matter and Anti-Matter
In this module, we will learn about dark matter and anti-matter -- some of the more mysterious sides of the Universe. We know dark matter played an important role in the formation of stars and galaxies, but much of properties are still unknown to us. In another strange mystery, we will see how the beginning of the universe started with equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, yet somehow only matter (which we are composed of!) survived.
8 videos (Total 83 min), 1 reading, 11 quizzes
8 videos
3-2 Dark Matter I6m
3-3 Dark Matter II10m
3-4 Nature of Dark Matter I9m
3-5 Nature of Dark Matter II9m
3-6 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter I13m
3-7 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter II13m
3-8 Neutrinos and Anti-Matter III9m
1 reading
About Optional Challenge Problems10m
11 practice exercises
Practice Quiz 3-12m
Practice Quiz 3-22m
Practice Quiz 3-32m
Practice Quiz 3-42m
Practice Quiz 3-52m
Graded Quiz 3-18m
Practice Quiz 3-62m
Practice Quiz 3-72m
Practice Quiz 3-82m
Graded Quiz 3-26m
Optional Challenge Problem 210m
Week
4Inflation and Dark Energy
At the very beginning, the Universe exponentially expanded during a period known as the cosmic inflation. Recent studies suggested that the Universe has entered into another stage of expansion, considered to be caused by 'mysterious' dark energy. In this module, we will learn about inflation, dark energy, and the possible fates of our Universe.
15 videos (Total 146 min), 1 reading, 9 quizzes
15 videos
4-2 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle II (Uncertainty Principle I )12m
4-3 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle III (Uncertainty Principle II )10m
4-4 Fate of the Universe5m
4-5 Dark Energy9m
4-6 Big Rip6m
4-7 Future Observations11m
4-8 Wrap-up5m
Extra Lecture 1 Theoretical Discovery of Higgs Boson8m
Extra Lecture 2-1 Discovery of Neutrino Oscillations and Neutrino Mass I13m
Extra Lecture 2-2 Discovery of Neutrino Oscillations and Neutrino Mass II12m
Extra Lecture 3-1 Discovery of Gravitational Waves I7m
Extra Lecture 3-2 Discovery of Gravitational Waves II11m
Extra Lecture 3-3 Discovery of Gravitational Waves III10m
Extra Lecture 3-4 Discovery of Gravitational Waves IV4m
1 reading
Introduction1m
9 practice exercises
Practice Quiz 4-12m
Practice Quiz 4-22m
Practice Quiz 4-32m
Graded Quiz 4-18m
Practice Quiz 4-42m
Practice Quiz 4-52m
Practice Quiz 4-62m
Practice Quiz 4-72m
Graded Quiz 4-26m
4.8
373 Reviews44%
started a new career after completing these courses
25%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
By VV•Mar 15th 2017
I loved this course... It made me realise how small we are yet how big!!! It helped me understand various aspects of universe and also about quantum physics...\n\nThank you so much for the course..
By GV•Jan 7th 2018
This was an incredible experience.thanx to u i came to know about our existance in the univerce, how we have formed and what going to happen in the future .knowing all these info was fun..........
Instructor
Hitoshi Murayama
MacAdams Professor of Physics, University of California, BerkeleyProfessor, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study (TODIAS)
About The University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, UTokyo offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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