ASTRO 358/SPRING 2015
        	     GALAXIES AND THE UNIVERSE
                	  COURSE OUTLINE 

I will try to adhere to the course outline below as closely as possible, 
but there may be small pacing changes based on the background of the
students enrolled in the course. The  outline will be updated regularly
and the most  current version can be found at 
   http://www.as.utexas.edu/~sj/a358-sp15/a358-sp15-calendar.txt
In-class activities and quizzes can take place  at any time in the  semester
and are not all  listed on the course outline.  A list of reference textbooks
for reading is given at  the end of the ouline.


Jan 20
Course Overview  and Pre-requisites
   
Jan 22, 27, 29
Introduction to Nearby Galaxies
Galaxy Morphological Types  and Classification Systems

Jan 29
- Quiz on Pre-Requisite Materials

Feb 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 
- Overview: Unveiling the Dark Side  (Dark Matter and Dark Energy)
- Motion of Particles Under Newtonian Laws of Gravity
- Evidence for Dark Matter in Galaxies and Local Group from Newtonian Dynamics
- Evidence for Dark Matter in Galaxy Clusters  (using the Virial
- Dark Matter Alternatives: Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND)
- Evidence for Dark Matter from Gravitational Lensing (by MACHOS,  galaxies, 
     and cluster of galaxies)
- Candidates for Dark Matter : Baryonic (MACHOS), non-Baryonic CDM (e.g., 
     WIMPS) non-baryonic HDM  (e.g., neutrinos) 
- Candidates for Dark Matter & Implication for Structure Formation 

Feb 24, 26
Galaxy Luminosity Functions 

Mar 3, 5, 10
Galaxy Interactions and Mergers  

Mar 12 
Mid Term Exam 

Spring Break  = Mar 16-21 

Mar 24, 26,
Galaxy Interactions and Mergers   (continued)
Star Formation: Tracers and Theoretical Framework 

Mar 31 
Background lecture for the class project  on "Unveiling Galaxy 
Evolution with Current and Next-Generation Observational 
Facilities". For this project, each team of 4-5 students will 
will give oral presentations on  a specific facility.

Apr 2 
Student teams meet in class to  select a team representative, 
and to organize  the work among team members for their 
oral presentation. 

Apr 7, 14, 16 
Star Formation: Tracers and Theoretical Framework  (continued)
Black Holes and AGN 
 
Apr  21
Black Holes and AGN  (contd) 
Feedback on Drafts of Class Presentattions

Apr 23,  28   + part of Apr 30   
Talks by student teams for the class project "Unveiling Galaxy 
Evolution with Current and Next-Generation Observational Facilities"

Part of  Apr 30 
Discussion of homework solution sets  

May 5
Discussion of homework solution sets + Exam 2 
Galaxy Transformation in Different Environments  
Outstanding challenges for hierarchical models of galaxy evolution  
Course Synopsis

May 7
Second Mid Term Exam 

REFERENCE TEXTBOOKS  AND  READING  MATERIAL
- EAC = "Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology" by Peter Schneider 
        (Publisher: Spinger, copyright 2006)
- GA  = "Galactic Astronomy, by Binney and Merrifield
        (Publisher: Princeton University Press, copyright 1998)
- GU = "Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction", by Sparke & Gallagher
        (Publisher: Cambridge University Press, copyright 2000)