Web version of my recent talk given in Riga, Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, 16th February, 2006 (in Latvian):
File in Acrobat format, File in MS PowerPoint format. Videos have been taken from the MPA Cosmology group Data visualization page

Currently I am a researcher at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Latvia. In 2003-2008 I was a PhD student in the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany. There I worked on non-X-ray (radio, microwave, IR, visible, UV) spectroscopy of clusters of galaxies and young supernova remnants (from theoretical side) studying spectral lines of highly-ionized heavy elements in hot intergalactic medium and supernova ejecta.

My M.Sc. studies were made in VIRAC under the supervision of Karlis Berzins on statistical description of galaxy clusters, developing a program TCSplin for non-parametric smoothing of the data (applying the results to redshift distribution of galaxies for determining the subclustering properties in the redshift space).

At the same time I was a programming engineer at the Institute of Astronomy of the University of Latvia, on leave.

In years 2003, 2004 and 2008 I have read four lectures on Cosmology as a part of "Astronomy and Astrophysics" course for undergraduate physics students at the University of Latvia. Lectures (slides in MS PowerPoint 2000 format) can be found here:

• 1st Lecture: Extra-Galactic Astronomy (9 MB) - Latvian version, Russian version
• 2nd Lecture: Cosmological models (1 MB) - Latvian version, Russian version
• For better understanding of cosmological models you are advised to use my small program that draws solution of Friedmann equations (with dark energy), obtaining them by numerical integration.
• 3rd Lecture: Big Bang theory 1 (0.8 MB) - Latvian version, Russian version
• 4th Lecture: Big Bang theory 2 (1.3 MB) - Latvian version. Short movies used during 4th lecture:
• Halo formation (3 MB), courtresy MPA
• The Local Universe (Constrained realization) (10.2 MB)
• Two colliding and merging spiral galaxies (4.8 MB)
• Formation of a rich cluster of galaxies (112 MB)
• Zoom into Millenium simulation (13.4 MB)
• Formation of a large-scale structure (11 MB)
• Reionization of the Universe (26 MB)

I have used the following literature (and some other) to prepare these lectures:

• J.V.Narlikar, An Introduction to Cosmology, 2002
• J. Silk, The Big Bang, 1980, San Francisko (Russian version: Дж. Силк, Большой Взрыв, 1982, Москва)
• Физика космоса: маленькая энциклопедия, 1982, Москва, 1982, Moscow
• S. Weinberg, The First Three Minutes, 1977 (Russian version: С. Вейнберг, Первые три минуты, 1980, Москва)
• W.C. Keel lecture notes - Galaxies and The Universe
• И. Новиков, Рождение Вселенной, 1988, Москва (In Russian)
• И. Новиков, Эволюция Вселенной, 1979, Москва (In Russian)
• S. Hawking, A Brief History of Time (Latvian version: S. Hokings, Îsi par laika vçsturi, Rîga, Madris, 1997)

• E.L. Wright, Lecture notes, 1997 - 2003
• P.J. Peebles, Principles of Physical Cosmology, 1993, Princeton University Press, Princeton
• И.Л. Розенталь, Элементарные частицы и структура Вселенной, 1984, Москва (In Russian)
• ...