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.