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3,259 ratings

Hitoshi Murayama

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From the Big Bang to Dark Energy

The University of Tokyo

About this Course

47,887 recent views

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.

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Shareable Certificate

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Beginner Level

Approx. 31 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 31 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.88/5 (694 Ratings)

Hitoshi Murayama

MacAdams Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley

University Professor, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS)

88,468 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

The University of Tokyo

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating96%(13,728 ratings)

Week

Week 1

9 hours to complete

From 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.

9 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 95 min), 3 readings, 14 quizzes

12 videos

Course Preview1m

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 1-130m

Practice Quiz 1-230m

Graded Quiz 1-130m

Practice Quiz 1-330m

Practice Quiz 1-430m

Graded Quiz 1-230m

Practice Quiz 1-530m

Practice Quiz 1-630m

Practice Quiz 1-730m

Practice Quiz 1-830m

Practice Quiz 1-930m

Practice Quiz 1-1030m

Graded Quiz 1-330m

Optional Challenge Problem 130m

Week

Week 2

7 hours to complete

Birth of Elements and Higgs Boson

7 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 97 min)

9 videos

2-1 Birth of Elements I5m

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 2-130m

Practice Quiz 2-230m

Practice Quiz 2-330m

Practice Quiz 2-430m

Practice Quiz 2-530m

Graded Quiz 2-130m

Practice Quiz 2-630m

Practice Quiz 2-730m

Practice Quiz 2-830m

Practice Quiz 2-930m

Graded Quiz 2-230m

Week

Week 3

7 hours to complete

Dark 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.

7 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 83 min), 1 reading, 11 quizzes

8 videos

3-1 Power Spectrum11m

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 3-130m

Practice Quiz 3-230m

Practice Quiz 3-330m

Practice Quiz 3-430m

Practice Quiz 3-530m

Graded Quiz 3-130m

Practice Quiz 3-630m

Practice Quiz 3-730m

Practice Quiz 3-830m

Graded Quiz 3-230m

Optional Challenge Problem 230m

Week

Week 4

8 hours to complete

Inflation and Dark Energy

8 hours to complete

17 videos (Total 216 min), 1 reading, 9 quizzes

17 videos

4-1 Inflation and Uncertainty Principle I (Inflation)15m

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

Extra Lecture 4-1 Theoretical Foundation of Black Hole33m

Extra Lecture 4-2 Observational Evidence of Black Hole36m

1 reading

Introduction1m

9 practice exercises

Practice Quiz 4-130m

Practice Quiz 4-230m

Practice Quiz 4-330m

Graded Quiz 4-130m

Practice Quiz 4-430m

Practice Quiz 4-530m

Practice Quiz 4-630m

Practice Quiz 4-730m

Graded Quiz 4-230m

Reviews

4.8

896 reviews

5 stars
85.77%
4 stars
12.56%
3 stars
1.22%
2 stars
0.03%
1 star
0.39%

TOP REVIEWS FROM FROM THE BIG BANG TO DARK ENERGY

by KNSep 23, 2021

really enjoyed doing this course! I've learnt a lot from this... there's so much of information in this course and the explanations were really good, if you're into astronomy then this is for you!

by WKApr 7, 2020

Incredible course! I learned so much more than I had expected, and so many of my questions have been answered. This course has fuelled my interest and curiosity about our universe. Thank you so much.

by JJApr 28, 2020

Prof Hitoshi Murayama is a great lecturer. Very clear and vivid introduction to astrophysics and related cutting-edge experiments. Thanks for giving this course! Looking forward to hear more.

by JCFeb 19, 2021

Very interesting topic and very well exposed. 4th part is the hardest and I'm still trying to wrap my head around but I liked how mr Murayam explains it all. Arigatoo gozaimasu Murayama sensei.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

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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.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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From the Big Bang to Dark Energy

From the Big Bang to Dark Energy

About this Course