Graduate Courses: 2011-2012

Courses preceded by an asterik are required for first year graduate students.

Schedule

2011 - 2012 : Autumn Winter Spring

AUTUMN, 2011 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30100	Stars	1:30pm-2:50pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Donald Q. Lamb
*ASTR 30500	Radiative Processes in Astrophysics	10:30am-11:50am Tue, Thu AAC 123	Fausto Cattaneo
ASTR 30900	Research Project Seminar	1:30pm-4:20pm Mon AAC 123	Kyle M. Cudworth
ASTR 33000	Computational Physics and Astrophysics	3:00pm-4:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Alexei Khokhlov
ASTR 45400	Image Processing (Analysis)	1:30pm-2:50pm Wed, Fri AAC 123	Richard G. Kron

WINTER, 2012 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30200	Astrophysics II	ARR	Alexei Khokhlov
*ASTR 30600	Radiation Measurements in Astrophysics	ARR	Edward J. Kibblewhite
ASTR 31500	Dynamics I (Fluids)	ARR	Andrey V. Kravtsov
ASTR 36100	Interstellar Medium	ARR	Donald G. York
ASTR 43200	High Energy Cosmic Particles	ARR	Angela V. Olinto
ASTR 45800	Exoplanets	ARR	Arieh Konigl
ASTR 45900	What Make a Planet Habitable?	ARR	Abbot/Ciesla

SPRING, 2012 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30300	Interstellar Matter	1:30pm-2:50pm Tue, Thu TAAC 41	Stephen M. Kent
*ASTR 30400	Galaxies	11:30am-12:50pm Wed, Fri TAAC 41	Dan Hooper
ASTR 30700	Preparation for Summer Research Project	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Wed TAAC 41	Wayne Hu
ASTR 31300	Extragalactic Studies	ARR	Hsiao-Wen Chen
ASTR 34000	Statistical Methods in Astronomy and Astrophysics	Wed, Fri TAAC 67	Joshua A. Frieman
ASTR 41800	Introduction to Intergalactic Medium Studies	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Fri TAAC 67	Hsiao-Wen Chen
ASTR 45000	Extreme Optics	10:30am-11:50am Tue, Thu TAAC 67	Edward J. Kibblewhite

Courses Description

*ASTR 30100 Stars (Detailed Outline)
Introduction to stars (physical and observational), hydrodynamics of self-gravitating fluids, statistical mechanics and equations of state, energy transport, astrophysical nuclear reactions, stellar models, advanced topics.

*ASTR 30200 Astrophysics II (Detailed Outline)
Star formation, main sequence evolution, post-main sequence evolution, degenerate stars, and supernovae.

*ASTR 30300 Interstellar Matter (Detailed Outline)
Interstellar medium, collisionless systems, distribution of stars in the solar neighborhood, stellar kinematics/dynamics, observations of galactic large-scale structure, theory of galactic structure and evolution.

*ASTR 30400 Galaxies (Detailed Outline)
The observed universe, the universe at high redshift, early universe microwave background radiation, relativistic homogeneous isotropic cosmologies, evolution of structure in the universe, primordial nucleosynthesis.

*ASTR 30500 Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (Detailed Outline)
Fundamentals of radiative transfer, theory of stellar atmospheres, basic theory of radiation fields, continuum emission processes, atomic and molecular emission, plasma effects.

*ASTR 30600 Radiation Measurements in Astrophysics (Detailed Outline)
Radiation as a random process, optical coherence, and signal analysis in spatial and temporal domains, along with the detection and measurement of radiation with astronomical instruments.

ASTR 30700 Preparation for Summer Research Project
Students work with faculty members to select their research project topic and study the published literature related to it.

ASTR 30900 Research Project Seminar
Students present a seminar series based on their summer research projects.

ASTR 31300 Extragalactic Studies
The course will begin with a historical overview of observations of external galaxies and proceed with discussions of on-going research topics in extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. These include known correlations and scaling relations between different galaxy properties, empirical techniques for determining different physical quantities (such as redshifts, ISM metallicity, and mass), formation of elliptical galaxies, chemical evolution, and the re-ionization epoch.

ASTR 31500 Dynamics I (Fluids)
Principles of hydrodynamics and hydromagnetics. Equilibrium and stability of fluid systems in astrophysics. Waves. Shocks. Turbulence.

ASTR 33000 Computational Physics and Astrophysics
Basic computational methods useful for astrophysics, supplemented by specific examples drawn primarily from astrophysics. Starting with basics (e.g., precision, errors and error analysis) and basic computational methods (differentiation, integration/quadrature, Monte Carlo, numerical linear algebra), and then discussing solution of problems posed in terms of ordinary and partial differential equations.

ASTR 34000 Statistical Methods in Astronomy and Astrophysics
An exploration of the variety of statistical methods used in modern astrophysics.

ASTR 36100 Interstellar Medium
Advanced topics in interstellar matter, depending on current forefront reseach and interest of the instructor.

ASTR 41800 Introduction to Intergalactic Medium Studies
Introduction to intergalactic medium studies. The course will begin with a historical overview of absorption-line studies and proceed with in-depth discussion of on-going research topics. These include the re-ionization epoch, chemical enrichment of the universe, and association between luminous matter traced by galaxies and gaseous clouds probed by absorption-line observations.

ASTR 43200 High Energy Cosmic Particles
This graduate level course will focus on high energy particle astrophysics from basic facts to recent discoveries in the study of cosmic rays, gamma-rays, and neutrinos. The course will introduce the main concepts of proposed mechanisms for generating these particles, the past and current detections techniques and observatories, and recent observations. Some particle physics and cosmology will be covered including models of dark matter particles and the effect of cosmic backgrounds on high energy cosmic particles.

ASTR 45000 Extreme Optics
Frontiers in optics will be a review of the state of the art in optics as it paplies to astronomy. Topics to be covered will include
(1) Single dish optics : adaptive optics, building large telescopes and coronography
(2) Interferometers using multiple telescopes
(3) Lasers for guide stars and wavelength control
(4) LIGO and LISA

ASTR 45400 Image Processing (Analysis)
The courses focuses on how to extract information from astronomical raw images on a pixel basis, in situations involving low source light levels relative to background brightnesses. Specific cases considered include detection of AGN variability, high resolution imaging of galactic nuclei, star-galaxy separation, image shear measurements, supernova detection and characterization, planetary transit photometry and direct planet detection. Techniques for accomplishing such tasks include wavelet analysis, deconvolution, image subtraction, adaptive-optics photometry and interferometry. While our main source of information will be the journal articles, the monograph "Astronomical Image and Data Analysis" by Jean-Luc Stark and Fionn Murtagh, Springer 2006, may be a useful reference and is freely available:

http://www.springerlink.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/content/k13326/?MUD=MP

ASTR 45800 Exoplanets
The study of exoplanets, planets associated with stars other than the Sun, has become one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving areas of
modern astronomy. This new course will address general questions concerning the detection and characterization of exoplanets and of what we have already learned about the origin and properties of exoplanetary systems and of how they compare with those of the Solar System. This discussion will be placed in the context of models of planet formation in protoplanetary disks, their structure and composition, and their
dynamical interactions with the natal disk, the parent star, and other planets. The course will make use of seminal papers on these topics
and will encourage active participation by the students.

ASTR 45900 What Make a Planet Habitable?
*Dorian Abbot, Fred Ciesla (GEOS 32060) cross listed.*

This course explores the factors that determine how habitable planets form and evolve. We will discuss a range of topics, from the formation of planets around stars and the delivery of water, to the formation of atmospheres, climate dynamics, and the conditions that allow for the development of life and the evolution of complex life. Students will be responsible for reading and discussing papers in peer-reviewed journals each meeting and for periodically preparing presentations and leading the discussion.

Graduate Courses Archive

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