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Course Breakdown
The following shows an approximate breakdown of subjects within the course.
The breakdown serves
to show what material will be covered and the intended order of topics,
however it is expected that actual coverage will change according to how
long the class needs to spend on each topic. It is also possible that
some topics will be added or deleted at the discretion of Dr. Turner.
This is just intended as a rough guide.
The course will include:
The Milky Way as a galaxy
o Galactic coordinates
o Determination of distances within our Galaxy
+ Trigonometric parallax
+ Proper motions
+ Moving cluster parallax
+ Photometric distance; extinction and reddening
+ Spectroscopic distance
+ Distances of visual binary stars
+ Distances of pulsating stars
o The structure of the Galaxy
+ The Galactic disk: Distribution of stars
+ The Galactic disk: chemical composition and age
+ The Galactic disk: dust and gas
+ Cosmic rays
+ The Galactic bulge
+ The visible halo
+ The distance to the Galactic center
o Kinematics of the Galaxy
+ Determination of the velocity of the Sun
+ The rotation curve of the Galaxy
o The Galactic microlensing effect: The quest for compact dark matter
+ The gravitational lensing effect I
+ Galactic microlensing effect
+ Surveys and results
+ Variations and extensions
o The Galactic center
+ Where is the Galactic center?
+ The central star cluster
+ A black hole in the center of the Milky Way
+ Flares from the Galactic center
+ The proper motion of Sgr A*
+ Hypervelocity stars in the Galaxy
The world of galaxies
o Classification
+ Morphological classification: The Hubble sequence
+ Other types of galaxies
o Elliptical galaxies
+ Classification
+ Brightness profile
+ Composition of elliptical galaxies
+ Dynamics of elliptical galaxies
+ Indicators of a complex evolution
o Spiral galaxies
+ Trends in the sequence of spirals
+ Brightness profile
+ Rotation curves and dark matter
+ Stellar populations and gas fraction
+ Spiral structure
+ Corona in spirals?
o Scaling relations
+ The Tully-Fisher relation
+ The Faber-Jackson relation
+ The fundamental plane
+ The Dn-sigma relation
o Black holes in the centers of galaxies
+ The search for supermassive black holes
+ Examples for SMBHs in galaxies
+ Correlation between SMBH mass and galaxy properties
o Extragalactic distance determination
+ Distance of the LMC
+ The Cepheid distance
+ Secondary distance indicators
o Luminosity function of galaxies
+ The Schechter luminosity function
+ The bimodal color distribution of galaxies
o Galaxies as gravitational lenses
+ The gravitational lens effect - Part II
+ Simple models
+ Examples for gravitational lenses
+ Applications of the lens effect
o Population synthesis
+ Model assumptions
+ Evolutionary tracks in the HRD; integrated spectrum
+ Star formation history and galaxy colors
+ Metallicity, dust, and HII regions
+ Summary
+ The spectra of galaxies
o Chemical evolution of galaxies
Active galactic nuclei
o Introduction
+ Brief history of AGNs
+ Fundamental properties of quasars
+ Quasars as radio sources: synchrotron radiation
+ Broad emission lines
o AGN zoology
+ QSOs
+ Seyfert galaxies
+ Radio galaxies
+ OVVs
+ BL Lac objects
o The central engine: a black hole
+ Why a black hole?
+ Accretion
+ Superluminal motion
+ Further arguments for SMBHs
+ A first mass estimate for the SMBH: the Eddington luminosity
o Components of an AGN
+ The IR, optical, and UV-continuum
+ The broad emission lines
+ Narrow emission lines
+ X-ray emission
+ The host galaxy
+ The black hole mass in AGNs
o Family relations of AGNs
+ Unified models
+ Beaming
+ Beaming on large scales
+ Jets at higher frequencies
Clusters and groups of galaxies
* The Local Group
o Phenomenology
o Mass estimate
o Other components of the Local Group
* Galaxies in clusters and groups
o The Abell catalog
o Luminosity function of cluster galaxies
o Morphological classification of clusters
o Spatial distribution of galaxies
o Dynamical mass of clusters
o Additional remarks on cluster dynamics
o Intergalactic stars in clusters of galaxies
o Galaxy groups
o The morphology-density relation
* X-ray radiation from clusters of galaxies
o General properties of the X-ray radiation
o Models of the X-ray emission
o Cooling flows
o The Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect
o X-ray catalogs of clusters
* Scaling relations for clusters of galaxies
o Mass-temperature relation
o Mass-velocity dispersion relation
o Mass-luminosity relation
o Near-infrared luminosity as mass indicator
Clusters of galaxies as gravitational lenses
* Luminous arcs
* The weak gravitational lens effect
Evolutionary effects
Letter grades:
A = 87 and up
B = 72 and up
C = 60 and up
D = 50 and up
Incompletes: Please read carefully the catalog statement on
acceptable grounds for an incomplete. In this course,
incompletes are rarely granted and only if you are incapable of taking the
final exam with documentable cause.
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