Jordi Miralda-Escudé
Spring 2005
Welcome to the Astronomy 682 course! The objective of the course is to introduce the student to the subject of cosmology at a basic level, although with sufficient depth to reach an understanding of the most commonly discussed questions in current research. It will be assumed that the students have learned the basics of calculus and classical mechanics. Otherwise, the necessary physics background will be introduced along the course.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in class! Having many questions and comments by the students in class always makes a course more interesting and creates a better learning environment. There is a course syllabus with a plan of lectures to cover a series of topics, but the plan can be modified if there is a need to spend more time discussing any particular subject.
Monday 3:30-5:00pm
Come to the office hours whenever you have any question, about the
lectures, about the textbook, about a homework or exam, or simply
questions about other things in astronomy you want to find out!
I am here to help you study, so don't hesitate to come to office hours.
Students who ask questions during the lectures and/or use office hours
tend to do better in their courses. If you cannot come during regular
office hours, I can make a special appointment to see you in my office
at a different time. Simply ask me after class or e-mail me.
Other useful books that may complement our main textbook for further
study are:
Homework 0 (due April 1).
Solution to Homework 0 .
The exams will be in class, and you will be able to use any notes that
you have written yourself, either during the classes or while you are
studying on your own. I recommend that you write yourself a summary of
all the equations and important facts that you think are important, in
preparation for your exam. Memorizing things will not play a role in the
course since you can write down in your notes anything that you need to
remember. However, you will need to understand the concepts and
equations so that you know how to apply them for solving problems.
You will not be allowed to have the textbook, any other books, any
homework and homework solution copies, any other printed material, or
any copies of someone else's notes. Only your own,
handwritten notes will be allowed.
Midterm Exam : May 2
Solution to Midterm .
The syllabus lists the dates for lectures and assigned readings.
However, the most important thing is that we cover the material
sufficiently well so that everybody understands it; we can slow down
if we must, and the dates in the syllabus may be revised as we proceed.
Special website for the Cosmic Microwave Background: Max Tegmark
CMB movies
and his brief summary of
how we learn the cosmological parameters from
the key observables in cosmology.
The Cluster of Galaxies and Gravitational Lens Abell 2218
A supermassive black hole has been discovered in the center of the
Milky Way, at a distance of about 25000 light years. Supermassive black
holes have been found in the centers of many other galaxies and are
believed to be responsible for quasars, which are extremely luminous
sources in the universe. Our own black hole (named Sagittarius A*)
has a mass of 3 million solar masses, and at present it seems to be
dormant because little matter is in its vicinity and moving down the
throat of the monster. In the movie, you see images of stars taken in
infrared light within the central light year.
The gravitational attraction of the black hole on these
stars is so large that they move faster than any other stars in the
Galaxy. While stars appear almost stationary in other images of the sky,
in this one you can see how stars move along their orbits around the
center over a time of only several years.
The Radio Image around the M87 Galaxy observed with the Very Large Array
The NCSA has put together
a fascinating exposition
Cosmos in a Computer featuring some of the latest state-of-the-art
simulations of our Universe. Be sure to try the
exhibit
map to navigate the site. Office Hours
Regular Office Hours will be held in my office in Room 4021, McPherson,
at the following times:
Tuesday 9:30 - 10:30am
Thursday 11:15am-12:30pm
Friday 9:00 - 10:00am
Textbook
Barbara Ryden , Introduction to Cosmology
A well-written book at a similar level as our textbook.
A great book, very clear and covering the subject of large-scale structure
and galaxy formation in depth. Highly recommended for a more advanced
study of cosmology.
Another very clear cosmology textbook, at a more advanced graduate level,
with an extensive treatment of inflation and particle physics in the
early universe.
A more recently published cosmology textbook, also at an advanced graduate
level, going in depth into the theoretical analysis of linear fluctuations,
and statistical analysis of astronomical surveys
for the study of large-scale structure.
This book gives a clear
description of inflation at a general audience level.
A textbook with a detailed treatment of the history of cosmology.
Homework
There will be approximately one homework assignment every one to two weeks.
Homeworks will be essential for you to check your own progress in
understanding the course, and will count 40\% for the final course grade.
Homework 1 (due April 11).
Solution to Homework 1 .
Homework 2 (due April 18).
Solution to Homework 2 .
Homework 3 (due April 25 ).
Solution to Homework 3 .
Homework 4 (due May 9).
Solution to Homework 4 .
Homework 5 (due May 23).
Solution to Homework 5 .
Homework 6 (due June 1).
Solution to Homework 6 .
Exams
There will be a midterm exam on Monday, May 2, and the final exam
during the exams week in June. The exams will consist of similar
quantitative problems and qualitative questions as you will be asked in
the homework.
Final Exam : June 8
Solution to Final Exam .
Grades
The final grade of the course will be determined as:
Assigned reading
Assigned reading will be announced in class and posted on this
website, in the syllabus. You should complete the reading by the due
date so that you can come to class prepared with any questions you want
to ask. All the assigned readings are from the textbook by Barbara
Ryden. I will occasionally include additional optional readings from
other books.
1. Fundamental Observations:
March 28 and 30.
Chapter 1, and Sections 2.1 to 2.4
Complete by March 30th.
2. Special Relativity:
April 1 and 4.
No reading from textbook.
Optional reading: Foundations of Modern Cosmology ,
by J. F. Hawley and K. A. Holcomb
If you have not studied Special Relativity before, you may read the
relativity chapter in this book, it is at a very elementary level.
A short and advanced treatment is found in chapter 11 of
Classical Electrodynamics , by J. D. Jackson.
3. General Relativity:
April 6 and 8.
Chapter 3: Sections 3.1 and 3.2.
Complete by April 6th.
4. The geometry of the universe:
April 11 and 13.
Sections 3.3 and 3.4
Complete by April 11th.
5. The evolution of the universe:
April 15 to April 25.
Chapter 4: complete by April 15th.
Chapter 5: complete by April 18th.
Chapter 6: complete by April 22nd.
6. Measuring Cosmological Parameters:
April 27 and 29.
Chapter 7: complete by April 27th.
MIDTERM EXAM: May 2
7. Dark Matter:
May 4 and May 6.
Chapter 8: complete by May 4th.
8. The Cosmic Microwave Background:
May 9 to 13.
Chapter 9: complete by May 9th.
9. Nucleosynthesis and the Early Universe:
May 16 to 20.
Chapter 10: complete by May 16th.
10. Large-Scale Structure of the Universe:
May 23 to 27.
Chapter 12: complete by May 23rd.
11. The Inflationary Universe:
June 1 and 3.
Chapter 11: complete by June 1st.
Roof and Planetarium Nights: Find opportunities that you will have
during the quarter to observe through the telescope, attend planetarium
shows, and hear some star talks.
The Hubble Deep Field
The faintest sources of light ever detected by human beings are the
galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field. Some of these galaxies are seen when
the universe was only 10% or 20% of its present age. This is our view
of the universe that is our home: we see galaxies into the past, being
born and evolving to their present form.
COBE Picture of the Milky Way
Our view of the Milky Way Galaxy is hindered in visual light by dust
obscuration. Absorption by dust is greatly reduced in the wavelengths
of the far-infrared (much longer wavelength than visual light).
Observations in the far-infrared must be done from space, because the
Earth atmosphere is opaque to light at these wavelengths.
The COBE satellite has given to us the best unobscured pictures of the
Galaxy we live in. The picture shows many individual stars, the dust
lane in the disk, and the bulge. Notice the asymmetry of the bulge,
appearing slightly larger on the left side; this is an indication of
the presence of a small bar in the inner parts of the Milky Way.
Movie of Stars orbiting around Black Hole in
the Center of the Milky Way
VLA Radio image of the Virgo galaxy M87
Giant galaxies in the centers of clusters harbor massive black holes in
their cores, which eject jets of matter at relativistic speeds. Over
millions of years, these jets energize the halo of hot gas surrounding
the galaxy. Relativistic electrons produced in the jet slowly lose their
energy spiraling in the magnetic fields of the energized cloud, creating
these beautiful images in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Cosmology in a Computer
What is astronomy about? Since ancient times, astronomy has been about watching the sky. At present, precisely when scientists are rapidly advancing in the understanding of astronomy, most people are being deprived of the magnificence of the sky because of pollution and city lights. But thanks to the internet, we can watch pictures of celestial objects by using the resources in a multitude of websites. Explore the links provided here, which will bring you to images of star clusters (open and globular), gaseous nebulae, galaxies, etc. As part of learning astronomy, you simply need to have a good idea of what all these objects really look like.
Among many other links below, you can try the Astronomy Picture of the Day, where every day a different picture of some interesting object in the sky is displayed. If you then go to the index, you can click on any class of objects you wish, to access the archive of all images that have been displayed in the past. You should try also the Messier and NGC catalogues, the Ohio State University Astronomical Picture Gallery, and the Hubble Space Telescope Image Archive.
Astronomy 682, Winter Quarter 2003
MWF 1:30-3:00pm McPherson Room 4045
Jordi Miralda-Escudé
Astronomy Department
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