Syllabus

ASTRONOMY 309: Current Topics in Astronomy
Fall 2011

UNIQUE NUMBER:

47575

TIME, PLACE:

MW, 2:00-3:30 PM, WEL 3.502

INSTRUCTOR:

Pawan Kumar - an astrophysicist specializing in exploding stars and related topics.

 

Office:

RLM 17.204, phone: 471-3412

Email:

pk@astro.as.utexas.edu

Hours:

Tuesdays 1-2 PM or by appointment

TEACHING ASSISTANTs: Rodolfo Santana & Yi-Kuan Chiang

Office: RLM 16.318 Phone: 471-3466

Emails: santana@astro.as.utexas.edu & ykchiang@astro.as.utexas.edu

Hours: Tu 9-10 AM & Th 2-3 PM, or by appt.

GRADES: There will be two hour-long examinations, each counting 20 percent of the grade. Homeworks (roughly one every other week) will carry 20% of the grade. The remaining 40% of grade will be based on about 12, 10 minute quizzes, spread randomly over the entire semester. The top 10 quiz grades will be counted toward the final 40% quiz grade. Half of these quizzes will be closed book & closed internet and the other half will be open book and you will be allowed to interact with people sitting close to you (however you MUST respect that some people like to work by themselves and you should not disturb them). The exams are scheduled for 10/10 and 11/30. The exams will be multiple choice. There will be no final exam. There will be NO makeup exam unless there is a written note from a medial doctor or an appropriate official note from the university. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final grade; for example: 79.5-83.3 B-, 83.4-86.6 B, 86.7-89.4 B+.

Bonus Points: You can earn bonus points (or extra credit) by e-mailing the TAs suggestions for questions. You will earn one bonus point for each of your questions that is SELECTED for a QUIZ or a TEST; you can submit as many questions as you wish.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a specialized course for non-science majors that will presume some knowledge of the basic astronomical concepts presented in Astronomy 301. A working knowledge of basic algebra and some familiarity with calculus and scientific notation ("powers of ten") will be helpful.

COURSE CONTENT: Origin and Evolution of the Universe. Dark matter and dark energy and accelerated expansion of the universe and its ultimate fate. Birth, life and death of stars. Discussion of neutron stars and black holes and their fiery birth in supernovae & gamma-ray bursts. Supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. Search and detection of planets outside the Solar system.

TEXT required: Foundations of Modern Cosmology by John F. Hawley & Katherine A. Holcomb, Oxford U. Press.

TEXT suggested: Cosmic Catastrophes: Exploding Stars, Black Holes & Mapping the Universe, by J. Craig Wheeler, published by Cambridge University Press.

These books are available for online reading at the UT library website: www.lib.utexas.edu

HELP SESSIONS: Weekly help sessions will be held on Tuesdays in CPE 2.206 at 5:00-6:00 PM to discuss class material and exams. These sessions and office hours allow a more nearly one-on-one relationship and are a valuable addition to the lecture. In addition, there will be a review session the day before each of the two exams-the time and location will be posted on the blackboard in advance.

DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259.

WEB SITE: http://surya.as.utexas.edu/
(Note: we will also use Blackboard)

ASTRONOMY 309
Current Topics in Astronomy

Syllabus

  1. Setting the Stage: (Week 1 - 2)
    1. Overview of The Universe
    2. Basic laws of Nature: Electrodynamics, Strong & weak forces, gravity according to Newton and according to Einstein
  2. The Universe: (Weeks 2 - 5)
    1. Big bang theory, inflation, cosmic microwave background, formation of galaxies...
    2. Dark matter, dark energy and accelerated expansion of the universe
  3. Life Cycle of Stars (Weeks 6 - 7)
    1. Birth, growing old, and death
    2. Main sequence stars & white dwarfs
  4. Stellar explosions (Weeks 8 - 9)
    1. Supernovae & Gamma-ray bursts: birth of a Black Hole or a neutron star
    2. Basic properties of Neutron stars
  5. Black Holes (theoretical properties) (Weeks 9 - 10)
    1. Event Horizon and Singularity
    2. Orbits around Black Holes
    3. Inside Black Holes
    4. Black Hole Evaporation: Hawking Radiation
    5. Accretion and growth of Black Holes
  6. Observation of Black Holes (Weeks 11 - 12)
    1. Stellar mass Black Holes: X-ray Novae & micro-quasars
    2. Supermassive Black Holes at centers of galaxies (including H2O-maser galaxies)
  7. Planets outside of our solar system (Week 13 - 14)
    1. Different observational techniques for detecting exoplanets
    2. Distribution of Mass & distance from the central star etc.
    3. Formation of planets & their migration
    4. Life outside the solar system?
snr 30540-69.3

SNR 0540-69.3

Instructor

Pawan Kumar

RLM 17.204 · (512) 471-3412 · email

Office Hours

TBA

TA

Rodolfo Santana

TA

Yi-Kuan Chiang