High Energy Astrophysics -
Spring 2010
Homework #2 due February 9
1. Attach a printout of the ds9 image from data analysis excerise #1
showing the photon map and your source and background regions.
2. Attach a printout showing your best fit spectrum for 3C273 along
with the fit parameters and the quality of the fit.
3. Using ADS, find a paper using Chandra observations to study a topic
of interest to you. Write a short summary (1 page) explaining why
the
paper is interesting, the instrument used on Chandra, the results
obtained, and the
implications of those results. Be sure to include the title,
first author, and journal reference for the paper.
4. Assuming the Hubble constant is 72 km/s/Mpc, estimate the age of the
Universe. Explain.
5. Derive an equation which gives the approximate lifetime of a star as
a function of its mass.
6. A quasar has a luminosity of 1012 solar luminosities and
varies by a factor of 2 on a time scale of 10,000 seconds. If the
quasar is producing blackbody radiation, what the minimum possible
temperature for that radiation? What sort of radiation does the
quasar produce?