Special Topics in Astrophysics 29:235  -  Fall 2006

High Energy Astrophysics

Instructor:  Prof. Philip Kaaret
Office: 702 Van Allen Hall
Phone: 335-1985
E-mail: philip-kaaret [at] uiowa.edu
Web: http://astro.physics.uiowa.edu/~kaaret
Office hours:  10:00–11:30 pm Tuesday, 10:00–10:30 pm Thursday, or just drop by

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy
DEO: Prof. Thomas F. Boggess, Jr.
Office: 203 Van Allen Hall
Phone: 335-1686

Special Topics in Astrophysics is a graduate level course.  This semester the topic will be High Energy Astrophysics.  The course will cover: the detection of X-rays and gamma-rays, analysis of X-ray data, the formation of black holes and neutron stars, accretion onto compact objects, pulsars, supernova remnants, cosmic rays, and gamma-ray bursts.  The course will assume an undergraduate preparation in physics, but no prior training in astronomy.

 
General Information

• Lectures are from 3:00 to 4:15 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 618 of Van Allen Hall.
• The textbooks for the course are High Energy Astrophysics, volumes I and II, 2nd Edition, by Malcolm Longair published by Cambridge University Press.
• There is a website for the course: http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/~kaaret/heastro06f.  The website will contain the syllabus, lecture notes, and other class-related materials.
• Students are expected to attend all lectures.  Poor attendance is likely to affect success in the course.
• The grade in the course will be determined from the problem sets (50%) and from a data analysis project (50%). 
  
• Homework will be due at the beginning of class on the assigned date.  Students are allowed to work on the homework in small groups.  However, each student should be sure to understand each homework problem.  Students should feel free to come during office hours to discuss the homework assignments.
• For the data analysis project, students may work in groups of 2 or 3.  Each group will choose an observation or observations available in the archives of an X-ray astronomy satellite, analyze the data, and write a paper describing the motivation for the analysis, the analysis work done, and an interpretation of the results.  Each group will also give a 15 minute presentation of the analysis work during class.  Questions, directed to particular group members, will be asked during the presentation.
  

• Course policies are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Students have the right to adjudication of any complaints about classroom activities or instructor actions. Information is available in the College's Student Academic Handbook.
• Your responsibilities to this class-and to your education as a whole-include attendance and participation. You are also expected to be honest and honorable in your fulfillment of assignments and in test-taking situations (the College's policy on plagiarism and cheating is in the College's Student Academic Handbook). You have a responsibility to the rest of the class, and to the instructor, to help create a classroom environment where all may learn.  Noise and disruptions during class will not be tolerated.  Students talking during lectures will be expected to leave.
  
• I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require some modification of seating, testing, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.