------------------------------------------------------------------------ SYLLABUS Astronomy 550: High-Energy Astrophysics Fall 2024 Offering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Campus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tues, Thurs; 1:35-2:50 pm Davey Lab Room 541 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instructor: W. Niel Brandt Instructor's office hours: Tues, Thurs 2:50-3:50 pm Instructor's office: 514A Davey Lab or via Zoom Instructor's phone: (814) 865-3509 Course web page: http://personal.science.psu.edu/wnb3/astro550/astro550.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION Theory and observations of X-rays, gamma-rays, and other high-energy radiation from Galactic and extragalactic sources. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LEARNING OBJECTIVES The main objectives of this course are to learn about the following: (1) Some of the physics processes underlying high-energy astrophysics. For example, students should be able to apply understanding of the physics of radiative processes to deduce information about high-energy astrophysical sources from their spectra, variability, and spatial extent. (2) Some of the tools and methods used in high-energy astrophysics. For example, students should be able to explain, at a basic physics level, how cosmic high-energy photons and particles are detected and measured. (3) High-energy astrophysical sources in the cosmos, both Galactic and extragalactic. For example, students should be able to explain the physical processes, demographics, and environmental interactions relevant to these sources. (4) Future prospects for the field. For example, students should be aware of upcoming missions and projects in high-energy astrophysics. (5) Proposal preparation in research astrophysics. For example, students will practice preparing an observation proposal for an X-ray satellite mission, learning about the relevant tools and procedures needed to do this effectively. (6) Effective use of the research literature in astrophysics. For example, students will read articles from the research literature and describe them in in-class presentations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A RELEVANT NOTE ABOUT THE SCOPE OF THE COURSE You will quickly come to realize that high-energy astrophysics is an *enormous* field. For example, it arguably covers as much of the electromagnetic spectrum and as many diverse phenomena as all of the rest of astrophysics. As a result, this course is stuffed, and even overstuffed, with great material. For this reason, difficult choices/cuts need to be made regarding the covered material, and many exciting topics will need to be skimmed over or even skipped entirely. My apologies in advance if your favorite topic is not covered at the level you think it deserves - this certainly doesn't mean that I think it unimportant! For this same reason, this course will also have a bias toward electromagnetic observations/interpretations, since there is simply not the time to give particle astrophysics and gravitational waves the full attention they richly deserve. I will cover particles and gravitational waves to the extent possible, weaving them into the overall flow of the course, but there are genuine limits to what can be covered due to the limited class time. Students who want to learn more about these topics should take Penn State's course on "Particle Astrophysics", often offered as ASTRO/PHYS 585. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPECIFICS PREREQUISITES: The prerequisites for this course are Astro 501 and 502. Some waivers of these prerequisites may be available upon discussion with the instructor. LECTURES: The lectures are designed to explain difficult concepts, to expand on the reading materials, and to introduce topics not covered in the textbooks. You are responsible for all material presented in the lectures. You are encouraged to ask questions during the lectures. Also, if I am lecturing too fast or something is not clear, please feel free to tell me. I'll be happy to go over the material again or try to explain it in a different way. Due to some work-travel obligations I may have over the semester, there may be some make-up and/or guest lectures. These will be arranged as needed. REFERENCES: There are two required textbooks for this course: * High-Energy Astrophysics - F. Melia Princeton University Press; 2010 (ISBN: 978-0-691-14029-2) * Exploring the X-ray Universe: Second Edition F.D. Seward and P.A. Charles Cambridge University Press; 2010 (ISBN: 978-0-521-88483-9) These books give an excellent introduction to the physical processes and phenomena of high-energy astrophysics, and the authors are experts in this field. These two books have been chosen to complement each other well. There are several other books that might also be helpful for this course: * Astrophysics at Very High Energies F. Aharonian, L. Bergstrom, and C.D. Dermer Springer; 2013 (ISBN: 978-3642361333) * Handbook of X-ray Astronomy K. Arnaud, R. Smith, and A. Siemiginowska Cambridge Univ Press; 2011 (ISBN: 978-0521883733) * What Does a Black Hole Look Like? - C.D. Bailyn Princeton Univ Press; 2014 (ISBN: 978-0-691-14882-3) * Tutorial Guide to X-ray and Gamma-ray Astronomy C. Bambi, Editor Springer; 2020 (ISBN: 978-981-15-6336-2) * Handbook of X-ray and Gamma-ray Astrophysics C. Bambi and A. Santangelo, Editors Springer; 2024 (ISBN: 978-9811969591) * Supernova Explosions - D. Branch and J.C. Wheeler Springer; 2017 (ISBN: 978-3662550526) * The WSPC Handbook of Astronomical Instrumentation; Volumes 4 and 5 - D.N. Burrows, Editor in Chief World Scientific; 2021 (ISBN: 978-9814644310) * High-Energy Astrophysics - T.J.L. Courvoisier Springer; 2012 (ISBN: 978-3642309694) * High-Energy Radiation from Black Holes C.D. Dermer and G. Menon Princeton Univ Press; 2009 (ISBN: 978-0691144085) * Introduction to Particle and Astroparticle Physics A. De Angelis and M. Pimenta Springer; 2018 (ISBN: 978-3-319-78180-8) * Frontiers of X-ray Astronomy A.C. Fabian, K.A. Pounds, and R.D. Blandford Cambridge Univ Press; 2004 (ISBN: 0-521-53487-9) * Accretion Power in Astrophysics: Third Edition J. Frank, A. King, and D. Raine Cambridge Univ Press; 2002 (ISBN: 0-521-620538) * X-ray Detectors in Astronomy - G.W. Fraser Cambridge Univ Press; 1989 (Out of print) * Radiative Processes in High Energy Astrophysics G. Ghisellini Springer; 2013 (ISBN: 978-3319006116) * Modern General Relativity - M. Guidry Cambridge Univ Press; 2019 (ISBN: 978-1107197893) * High-Energy Astrophysics: A Primer - J. Horvath Springer; 2022 (ISBN: 978-3030921583) * High-Energy Spectroscopic Astrophysics S.M. Kahn, P. von Ballmoos, and R.A. Sunyaev Springer-Verlag; 2005 (ISBN: 3-540-40501-1) * High Energy Astrophysics - J.I. Katz Addison-Wesley; 1987 (ISBN: 0-201-11830-0) * Supermassive Black Holes - A. King Cambridge Univ Press; 2023 (ISBN: 978-1108488051) * Gamma-Ray Bursts C. Kouveliotou, R.A.M.J. Wijers, and S. Woosley Cambridge Univ Press; 2013 (ISBN: 978-0521662093) * High-Energy Astrophysics: Third Edition - M.S. Longair Cambridge Univ Press; 2011 (ISBN: 978-0-521-75618-1) * The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole - F. Melia Princeton Univ Press; 2007 (ISBN: 0-691-13129-5) * The High-Energy Universe - P. Meszaros Cambridge Univ Press; 2010 (ISBN: 978-0-521-51700-3) * The Physics and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei H. Netzer Cambridge Univ Press; 2013 (ISBN: 978-1-107-02151-8) * High Energy Astrophysical Techniques - R. Poggiani Springer; 2017 (ISBN: 978-3319447285) * Introduction to High-Energy Astrophysics S. Rosswog and M. Bruggen Cambridge Univ Press; 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-521-85769-7) * Radiative Processes in Astrophysics G.B. Rybicki and A.P. Lightman Wiley Interscience; 1979 (ISBN: 0-471-82759-2) * Black Holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars: The Physics of Compact Objects - S.L. Shapiro and S.A. Teukolsky Wiley Interscience; 1983 (ISBN: 0-471-87316-0) * Particles and Astrophysics: A Multi-Messenger Approach Maurizio Spurio Springer; 2015 (ISBN: 978-3319080505) * X-ray Data Booklet - A. Thompson et al. LBNL Press; 2009 (Available at http://xdb.lbl.gov/) * The Universe in X-rays - J.E. Truemper and G. Hasinger Springer-Verlag; 2008 (ISBN: 978-3-540-34411-7) * Chandra's Cosmos: Dark Matter, Black Holes, and Other Wonders Revealed by NASA's Premier X-Ray Observatory - W. Tucker Smithsonian Books; 2017 (ISBN: 978-1588345875) * Foundations of High-Energy Astrophysics - M. Vietri Univ Chicago Press; 2008 (ISBN: 978-0-226-85569-1) * Physics and Evolution of Supernova Remnants - J. Vink Springer; 2020 (ISBN: 978-3030552299) * Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy - T.C. Weekes Inst of Physics Publishing; 2003 (ISBN: 0-7503-0658-0) * Chandra X-ray Observatory: Exploring the High Energy Universe B.J. Wilkes and W. Tucker, Editors IoP Publishing; 2020 (ISBN: 978-0750321617) * The Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts - B. Zhang Cambridge Univ Press; 2019 (ISBN: 978-1107027619) The Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (on the second floor of Davey Lab) has copies of these books, and I have placed them on reserve for your use. You should ask for them at the library main desk. Also, many of the books published by Springer are downloadable for free in PDF via "Get It Penn State" (librarians can help you with this if needed). Note that a couple of the assigned readings below come from these other books. In addition to readings from these books, there will also be readings from the scientific literature. Most of these can be accessed using the arXiv e-print service (http://arxiv.org/archive/astro-ph) or the Astrophysics Data System (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/). You will learn to use these facilities as you retrieve these reading assignments. Some reading material is also on the course web page. For some parts of the course, I will also provide material prepared by C.R. Canizares and G.P. Garmire. This material is on the course web page. GRADING: Your grade will be based on the following: 20% Homework 20% Midterm exam 20% In-class presentations 20% Mock observation proposal for Chandra or XMM-Newton 10% Peer review of presentations and colleagues' proposals 10% Class attendance and participation The grades will be curved, but I will also maintain some reasonable absolute standards (e.g., based on previous offerings of Astro 550). HOMEWORK AND COLLABORATION POLICY: About three homework sets will be assigned. To maximize your learning from the homework, you are urged to start working on the problems several days before the deadline. This will allow time to think deeply about the problems, review relevant resources, and ask for help if needed. The most important thing you can learn from homework is how to solve problems for yourself. This is what you will need to do to succeed in the long term. Therefore, please try each problem for at least 30 minutes before discussing it with others. You may consult books and published papers, but you may not look at any old assignments or exams from this course or Astro 485. After you have made a 30-minute honest attempt at a problem, you may discuss it with others currently in the course who have also made honest attempts at the problem. If your answers differ, you may argue your case at a blackboard, whiteboard, or similar - but you may not look at each others papers or copy things off the blackboard afterward. Overall, this approach is NOT trying to prevent collaborative learning, which is certainly valuable. Instead, it is trying to achieve a healthy balance between individual and collaborative learning that will help your long-term success. Please write your homework solutions in a standard and extremely clear manner. It will not be possible to give credit for work that is not clearly explained. Please show your work since this will allow partial credit to be given even if you cannot solve the whole problem. When it is relevant, use general formulas for as long as possible and only "plug in" numbers at the end of a problem. The use of Mathematica and similar programs to check your homework solutions is allowed; however, when using these, you must still properly show your work in detail including all intermediate calculation steps. You should not just say things like "I plugged this integral into Mathematica, and the solution is 4x*ln(x)", but instead you should show how you did the integral. Your homework solutions should follow the order in which the problems are given (don't present problem 7, then problem 1, then problem 5, etc.). Please staple your homework before handing it in, if needed. Unless announced otherwise, homework will be due at the *beginning* of the relevant class period (homework turned in later that same day will be treated as late). Homework must be turned in directly to Niel Brandt, and not to someone else such as a secretary. In the absence of a serious, documented medical excuse, late homework will receive only one-half credit - and homework more than one week late will receive no credit. If you have a medical excuse, you must contact me as soon as possible regarding this matter to arrange a new due date. In all cases, you may not look at any solutions handed out in class (or at the homework of anyone else). You are allowed one submission of your homework; i.e., you cannot turn in part of your homework on time (for full credit) and another part of it late (for one-half credit). If you think there is something wrong or unfair with how your homework has been graded, you should promptly submit a written appeal to the instructor. This appeal should include your name and contact information, a clear identification of the specific issue in question, and a concise and thoughtful explanation of what you think is wrong or unfair. Of course, you should also include your original homework as part of the appeal. Appeals must be submitted to the instructor within two weeks of the time when the relevant homework is returned in class. To help with your learning, after each homework deadline I will put a corresponding solution set on reserve in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library (on the second floor of Davey Lab). MIDTERM EXAM: There will be one midterm exam. There will not be a final exam, since instead there will be a final written project (the mock observation proposal). The planned week for the midterm exam is listed below, although this could shift by about one week depending upon circumstances. The midterm exam will be closed book. You may use standard, non-programmable calculators on the exam. Calculators with memories that can store equations and text are not allowed. In the absence of a serious medical excuse (documented by an official physician's note), no makeup exams will be given. If you have a medical excuse, you must contact me as soon as possible regarding this matter to arrange a makeup exam date. In such cases, you are strictly forbidden from discussing the exam with any of the other students in the course. The written appeal procedure for the midterm exam is the same as that for the homework (see above). IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS: Each student will give in-class presentations on course material. The dates of these presentations will be determined during the first 1-2 weeks of class, and typically students are able to select from various possible presentations (a list of the possible presentations will be provided by the instructor). I will clearly specify the basic material to be covered in these presentations; this material typically comes primarily from journal articles and reviews from the professional research literature. Please cover thoroughly the key points of the assigned material, and please do not deviate strongly from this material without first communicating with the instructor. If you have any uncertainty about the material you are supposed to cover, then please ask the instructor well in advance. These presentations will be peer reviewed and also graded by Niel. Peer reviews will be done using the "Peer-Review Form for Student Presentations" attached below. I will use the criteria explained on this form for my grading of the presentations. I will be reading the presentation peer-review forms and using them in my grading of the reviewers. High-quality presentation reviews are expected. MOCK OBSERVATION PROPOSAL FOR CHANDRA OR XMM-NEWTON: A written project is required for this course. It will take the form of a proposal to perform a Chandra or XMM-Newton observation of a particularly interesting white dwarf, neutron star, or stellar-mass black hole (or a related set of these objects) of your choice. These can either be isolated or binary systems. When designing your observation, you will need to consider the relevant observations that have already been performed with Chandra and XMM-Newton (so that you do not duplicate past work). This project combines the astrophysics aspects of the course with the practical reality of X-ray observational issues. The main goal is to get a feeling for "real-world" X-ray astronomy and proposal preparation. The latter skill is essential for success in any branch of research astronomy, so hopefully this will be a practically useful experience for you broadly. These proposals should be of high scientific quality and well written. Practice activities assigned throughout the semester will "build up" students to tackle this final project. These are clearly marked on the assignments list below. The proposal will consist of a four-page, single-spaced scientific justification along with associated proposal forms. The scientific justification will have four sections: * General introduction and overall scientific importance * Proposed observation/observations and specific science goals * Justification of technical feasibility * References The proposal forms will be those actually used for Chandra and XMM-Newton proposals. These forms specify observer information, observation-target properties, observing-instrument modes, and any observational constraints. A brief abstract summarizing the proposal is also part of the proposal forms. I will provide examples of previously submitted observation proposals to help guide you. Your proposal should be for 200 ks or less of observing time on Chandra or XMM-Newton. Exceptions to this rule will only be made for proposals addressing issues of broad, fundamental importance. You should clear any exceptions with the instructor well in advance of all deadlines. For the sake of your learning, the proposals are expected to be prepared entirely by you. You may not use generative AI or similar technology (e.g., ChatGPT) to prepare any of the submitted proposal text. If you have any questions about allowed tools for the proposals, please ask the instructor well in advance of the proposal deadline. Each proposal will be peer reviewed by some of your colleagues (i.e., other students in the class) following the schedule given below. I will assign the peer reviewers. Also below is a "Peer-Review Form for Mock Observation Proposals" that will be used by the reviewers. After the peer review is done, you will have a chance to revise your proposal to address points from the peer review. The final version of the proposal will then be turned in for grading. I will use the criteria on the peer-review form (as well as other reasonable, common-sense criteria) in my grading. Thus, please be sure that your proposal addresses all these criteria carefully! I will be reading the proposal peer-review forms and using them in my grading of the reviewers. High-quality reviews that thoughtfully address both proposal strengths and weaknesses are expected. In the absence of a serious medical excuse (documented by a physician's note), a late proposal will receive only one-half credit for the first extra week after the deadline - after that, no credit will be given. Please note that, owing to the peer reviewing aspect of the proposals, following the appropriate deadlines affects not only yourself but also your peers in the class. Thus, please be considerate of your peers in this regard. CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Class attendance and participation are important because they will help you learn. As such, they are part of the grade. To participate fully in this class, you should (1) come to class and pay attention, (2) answer questions when they are posed by the instructor, (3) ask questions in class when you don't understand the lecture, (4) perform standard tasks when requested by the instructor, (5) be courteous and friendly to your fellow students and the instructor, and (6) follow the general points on classroom conduct given below. The class attendance and participation component is not intended to be difficult. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: This course follows the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department, College, and University integrity policies. You are responsible for abiding by these policies, so please review them. See https://science.psu.edu/current-students/integrity http://undergrad.psu.edu/aappm/G-9-academic-integrity.html and Faculty Senate policy 49-20. Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception, and it is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following: cheating; plagiarizing; lying to the professor in any way; falsifying an excuse for missed work; copying the work of another student; giving or receiving answers to/from any other individual during exams; fabricating of information or citations; having unauthorized possession of exams or homework set solutions; giving or receiving information about exam questions in advance of taking an exam; using unauthorized aids during an exam; submitting the work of another person as your own; submitting your own work previously prepared for another class without informing the instructor; tampering with the academic work of other students; and facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others. I am passionate about academic integrity, since it is a foundation for building integrity in all aspects of our lives. Academic integrity is more than "don't cheat", though that is certainly part of it. Here are some reasons why academic integrity is so important: * Cheating in school leads to more cheating and lying later in life, in all contexts. * Ethical decision making takes a great deal of practice, and college is the best time to practice. * Cheating is contagious. * You will be happier and more committed if our class is cheating-free. * You will learn more. Any written work that you submit may be analyzed with plagiarism-detection software, so be sure that any writing you do for this course, no matter how short or long, is completely in your own words except where otherwise clearly cited. Plagiarism is one of the most frequently committed violations of academic integrity in college classes. Ignorance is not a valid defense for plagiarism. Educate yourself about what constitutes plagiarism so you do not get into trouble. Any instances of academic dishonesty will be pursued under University and College regulations concerning academic integrity. In this class there will be no warnings, even for a first offense. Academic dishonesty can result in assignment of a course grade of "F" by the course instructor, or "XF" by Judicial Affairs. So please don't cheat! CODE OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND COOPERATION: The Eberly College of Science Code of Mutual Respect and Cooperation embodies the values that we hope our faculty, staff, and students possess and will endorse to make the Eberly College of Science a place where every individual feels respected and valued, as well as challenged and rewarded. For details, see https://science.psu.edu/climate-and-diversity/code-mutual-respect-and-cooperation GENERAL CLASSROOM CONDUCT: Please turn off cell phones before the start of each class. Please do not read newspapers, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. or listen to music etc. during class. Please do not text message, talk, or pass notes during class. Penn State policy prohibits the consumption of food and drink in classrooms with the exception of bottled water. Justifying documentation to override the policy for medical reasons should be submitted to the instructor. At the end of class, you should pick up any newspapers, trash, and debris for which you are responsible. Seating and furniture should not be moved from the traditional lecture format without permission from the instructor. Do not post any signs or notices within the classroom. CLASSROOM RECORDINGS: Surreptitious recording of classroom speech and activity may exert a chilling effect on the academic freedom of both students and professors. It may also affect their privacy rights. Audio, video, or photographic recording should not be done without the clear consent of all present (i.e., all students in the class and the professor). This is consistent with Pennsylvania's "two-party consent" laws for recording. For further information, please refer to Penn State Policy AD-40. OFFICE HOURS AND QUESTIONS: You may come to my office hours for help with the course material. If you cannot make the appointed times, please phone to make an appointment (my office hours and phone number are given at the top of the first page). If needed, sometimes office hours may be held using Zoom (I will provide the needed Zoom link). LEARNING ASSISTANCE: The Eberly College of Science is committed to the academic success of students enrolled in the College's courses and undergraduate programs. When in need of help, students can utilize various College and University wide resources for learning assistance. For further information, please see https://science.psu.edu/current-students/support-network DISABILITIES: Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contact information for every Penn State campus (http://equity.psu.edu/sdr/disability-coordinator). For further information, please visit Student Disability Resources website (http://equity.psu.edu/sdr/). In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. See the documentation guidelines at http://equity.psu.edu/sdr/guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations. COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES: Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional well-being. The University offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients' cultural and religious backgrounds, and are sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation. See * Counseling and Psychological Services at University Park (CAPS) (http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/): 814-863-0395 * Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400 Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741 REPORT BIAS STATEMENT: Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage (http://equity.psu.edu/reportbias/). ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Niel Brandt has been at Penn State since 1997 and is currently a professor in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. Previously he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Brandt uses a wide variety of astronomical facilities, often operating in the high-energy band, to study the physics, evolution, and ecology of active galaxies and other cosmic X-ray sources. He is an author of more than 650 research papers and leads a small research group including postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students. He also regularly teaches courses on high-energy astrophysics, black holes, and active galaxies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASSIGNMENTS Here I list the assignments for this course. They are divided into "weeks" where a week is defined as a set of two lectures (not necessarily corresponding to a chronological week). You are responsible for all the material covered in the assignments. The assignments marked with ** are those relevant to the mock observation proposal. These have been designed to help you "build up" so that you will be able to prepare the proposal effectively. Do not fall behind on these assignments, since otherwise you will be frantic near the end of the semester when the proposal is due. Some of these are "open ended" in that they do not have a specific single goal. You are encouraged to experiment and be inventive when doing these assignments. Don't distress if something doesn't work right away, but rather try to find some creative solution. Communication with your classmates is encouraged in this regard. WEEK 1: SOME PHYSICS CONCEPTS NEEDED IN HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS * Seward & Charles chapter 1 on the birth and childhood of X-ray astronomy * Seward & Charles chapter 2 on X-ray emission and interaction with matter * Seward & Charles chapter 5 on X-ray absorption and scattering in the interstellar medium * Canizares notes on line radiation and spectroscopy * Garmire notes on cross sections and photoelectric absorption * "Mechanisms for the Production and Absorption of Cosmic X-rays" by W.H. Tucker (DOI: 10.1088/2514-3433/ab43dcch3) ** "The Chandra X-ray Observatory" by B.J. Wilkes and H. Tananbaum (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_150-1) ** "XMM-Newton" by N. Schartel et al. (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_41-1) WEEK 2: SOME PHYSICS CONCEPTS NEEDED IN HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS * Longair (third edition) sections 11.3 and 11.4 on shocks * Melia section 4.3 on Fermi acceleration ** Read through the "Chandra Proposers' Observatory Guide" available at http://asc.harvard.edu/proposer/POG/index.html You should focus on Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8. ** Read through the "XMM-Newton User's Handbook" available at https://xmm-tools.cosmos.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/documentation/uhb/ WEEK 3: THE TOOLS OF HIGH-ENERGY ASTRONOMY * Seward & Charles chapter 3 on tools and techniques * Melia chapter 1 on Introduction and Motivation * Melia chapter 2 on The High-Energy Sky * "X-ray Detectors for Astrophysics" by J.W. den Herder et al. (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_15-1) * "Charge Coupled Devices" by M.W. Bautz et al. (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_17-1) * "X-ray Optics for Astrophysics: A Historical Review" by F.E. Christensen and B.D. Ramsey (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_1-1) * "The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) High-Energy X-ray Mission" by F. Harrison et al. (arXiv:1301.7307) * "Diffraction Gratings for X-ray Astronomy" by F. Paerels et al. (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_149-1) * "Fermi: Monitoring the Gamma-Ray Universe" by D.J. Thompson (2018, Galaxies, 6, 117) (https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies6040117) * "The Fermi Large Area Telescope" by R. Rando (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-4544-0_59-1) * "TeV Astronomy" by F.M. Rieger et al. (arXiv:1302.5603) * Homework set 1 due ** Learn to use the Chandra and XMM-Newton archives to find out what observations have already been done. Have the well-known active galaxies NGC 3783 and NGC 4051 been observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton? How about the X-ray binaries Circinus X-1 and Vela X-1? How about the Coma Cluster and the Perseus Cluster? What were the observational parameters (for example, the exposure times and instrument modes). See the web pages http://asc.harvard.edu/cda/ for Chandra http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/ for XMM-Newton and other missions ** Learn how to use SIMBAD and NED to look up papers on past X-ray studies of the active galaxies, X-ray binaries, and clusters above. Try to find X-ray fluxes (in ergs/cm^2/s) for all of these objects. See the web pages http://simbad.harvard.edu/simbad/ http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/ WEEK 4: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS AND STELLAR HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION * Seward & Charles chapter 4 on Solar System X-rays * "X-ray Studies of the Solar System" by B. Snios et al. (arXiv:1903.02574) * "X-rays from Stars and Planetary Systems" by J.J. Drake (arXiv:1910.05662) * Seward & Charles chapter 6 on active stellar coronae * Seward & Charles chapter 7 on early type stars ** Learn about Galactic HI column density and the "colden" tool. Understand the relevance of Galactic HI column density to X-ray observations of cosmic objects. See Stark et al. (1992, ApJS, 79, 77) and http://asc.harvard.edu/toolkit/colden.jsp ** Learn the Portable Interactive Multi-Mission Simulator (PIMMS) for Chandra and XMM-Newton. Do some basic count-rate calculations for the active galaxies, X-ray binaries, and clusters from Week 3. See http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/tools/pimms.html http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/Tools/w3pimms.html http://asc.harvard.edu/toolkit/pimms.jsp WEEK 5: ISOLATED WHITE DWARFS AND WHITE DWARFS IN BINARY SYSTEMS * Longair (third edition) sections 13.2 and 13.3 on white dwarfs and the Chandrasekhar limit * "Evolutionary and Pulsational Properties of White Dwarf Stars" by L.G. Althaus et al. (arXiv:1007.2659) * Seward & Charles chapter 10 on cataclysmic variable stars * Melia section 9.3 on Cataclysmic Variables ** Read the Chandra "Call for Proposals" document at http://asc.harvard.edu/proposer/CfP/ ** Read the XMM-Newton "Policies and Procedures" document for proposals at https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/ao21 ** Read some example observation proposals for Chandra and XMM-Newton (provided by the instructor). WEEK 6: SUPERNOVAE AND SUPERNOVA REMNANTS * Seward & Charles chapter 8 on supernova explosions and their remnants * "Supernova Explosions in the Universe" by A. Burrows (2000, Nature, 403, 727) * "Supernovae and Their Remnants" by P. Slane (DOI: 10.1088/2514-3433/ab43dcch5) * "Supernova Remnants: The X-ray Perspective" by J. Vink (arXiv:1112.0576) * Homework set 2 due ** Download some X-ray FITS images of the active galaxies, X-ray binaries, and clusters from Week 3 using http://asc.harvard.edu/cda/ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/db-perl/W3Browse/w3browse.pl How do the Chandra and XMM-Newton observations compare? Do basic photometry on these images to estimate the numbers of counts detected. How do the measured count rates agree with your PIMMS predictions? ** Use WebSpec to simulate some X-ray spectra with differing numbers of counts (say 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000). Develop understanding of the key role of photon statistics in making X-ray measurements. See http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/webspec/webspec.html Typically one needs about 500-1000 counts for basic X-ray spectroscopy, and about 10-20 times this for precise X-ray spectroscopy. WEEK 7: ISOLATED NEUTRON STARS * Seward & Charles chapter 9 on neutron stars, pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and more supernova remnants * Melia section 9.1 on Radio Pulsars * "Masses, Radii, and Equation of State of Neutron Stars" by F. Ozel and P. Freire (arXiv:1603.02698 [astro-ph]) * The web site http://solomon.as.utexas.edu/magnetar.html on magnetars. * "Magnetars" by V.M. Kaspi and A. Beloborodov (arXiv:1703.00068) ** Learn the Remote Proposal System (RPS) for Chandra and XMM-Newton. Practice filling out proposal forms for a few typical observations, so that you understand what kind of information is needed when preparing a proposal. See https://asc.harvard.edu/proposer/CPS.html http://xmmrps.esac.esa.int/ If you have trouble accessing the RPS for XMM-Newton, note that I have put a PDF version of the blank XMM-Newton proposal forms on the course web page. ** Practice using the LaTeX templates for Chandra and XMM-Newton proposals. See http://asc.harvard.edu/proposer/ https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/ao23 WEEK 8: NEUTRON STARS IN BINARY SYSTEMS * Seward & Charles chapter 11 on X-ray binaries * Melia chapter 6 on Accretion of Plasma * Melia section 9.2 on X-ray Pulsars * Melia section 11.1 on X-ray Burst Sources * "Binary and Millisecond Pulsars" by D.R. Lorimer (arXiv:astro-ph/0511258) * "Relativistic Binaries in Globular Clusters" by M.J. Benacquista and J.M.B. Downing (http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2013-4) ** Do proposal "brainstorming" and basic planning WEEK 9: GALACTIC BLACK HOLES * Seward & Charles chapter 12 on black-hole X-ray binaries * Melia chapter 10 on Black Holes in Binaries * "X-ray Properties of Black-Hole Binaries" by R.A. Remillard and J.E. McClintock (arXiv:astro-ph/0606352). * "Black Hole Binaries and Microquasars" by S.N. Zhang (arXiv:1302.5485) * Midterm exam ** Work to prepare proposal draft WEEK 10: GALACTIC BLACK HOLES AND ACCRETION FLOWS * Melia chapter 7 on Accretion Disk Theory * Melia chapter 8 on Thick Accretion Disks * Melia section 12.2 on Nearby Objects * "Modelling the Behavior of Accretion Flows in X-ray Binaries" by C. Done et al. (arXiv:0708.0148) * "Hot Accretion Flows Around Black Holes" by F. Yuan and R. Narayan (arXiv:1401.0586) * "GRAVITY and the Galactic Center" by the GRAVITY Collaboration (http://doi.eso.org/10.18727/0722-6691/5168) ** Work to prepare proposal draft WEEK 11: NORMAL GALAXIES AND CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES * Seward & Charles chapter 13 on normal and starburst galaxies * "X-rays from Galaxies" by G. Fabbiano (arXiv:1903.01970) * "Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources" by P. Kaaret et al. (arXiv:1703.10728) * "Baryon Cycles in the Biggest Galaxies" by M. Donahue and G.M. Voit (arXiv:2204.08099) * Seward & Charles chapter 15 on clusters of galaxies * Melia section 13.2 on Galaxy Clusters * "X-ray Spectroscopy of Galaxy Clusters: Studying Astrophysical Processes in the Largest Celestial Laboratories" by H. Bohringer and N. Werner (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00159-009-0023-3) * "X-ray Cluster Cosmology" by N. Clerc and A. Finoguenov (arXiv:2203.11906) * "Absorption Studies of the Most Diffuse Gas in the Large Scale Structure" by T. Fang et al. (arXiv:2203.15666) * Homework set 3 due ** Work to prepare proposal draft and submit first version to peers for review (along with a copy to Niel). The deadline for delivery of the first version is 2024 Nov 14. WEEK 12: ACTIVE GALAXIES * Seward & Charles chapter 14 on active galactic nuclei * Melia chapter 12 on Supermassive Black Holes * "Active Galactic Nuclei: What's in a Name?" by P. Padovani et al. (arXiv:1707.07134) * "Revisiting the Unified Model of Active Galactic Nuclei" by H. Netzer (arXiv:1505.00811) * "Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei" by R.C. Hickox and D.M. Alexander (arXiv:1806.04680) * "Powerful Outflows and Feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei" by A. King and K. Pounds (arXiv:1503.05206) * "Relativistic Jets in Active Galactic Nuclei" by R. Blandford, D. Meier, and A. Readhead (arXiv:1812.06025) ** Write peer reviews of colleagues' proposals. The deadline for delivery of peer reviews is 2024 Dec 03. WEEK 13: HIGH-ENERGY EXTRAGALACTIC SURVEYS * Seward & Charles chapter 16 on the diffuse X-ray background * Melia section 13.3 on Diffuse Emission * "Surveys of the Cosmic X-ray Background" by W.N. Brandt and G. Yang (arXiv:2111.01156) * "The Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sky in the Fermi Era" by F. Massaro et al. (arXiv:1510.07660) ** Improve proposals in response to peer-review comments WEEK 14: GAMMA-RAY BURSTS, PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS, GRAVITATIONAL WAVES, AND MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS * Seward & Charles chapter 17 on gamma-ray bursts * Melia section 11.2 on Gamma-Ray Burst Sources * "Gamma-Ray Bursts and Fast Transients: Multi-wavelength Observations and Multi-messenger Signals" by R. Willingale and P. Meszaros (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-017-0366-4) * Melia section 13.1 on Cosmic Rays * "Cosmic Rays" by J. Alvarez-Muniz et al. from the 2023 Review of Particle Physics (Chapter 30) https://pdg.lbl.gov/2023/reviews/contents_sports.html * "The Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays" by P. Blasi (arXiv:1311.7346) * "Open Questions in Cosmic-Ray Research at Ultrahigh Energies" by R. Alves Batista et al. (arXiv:1903.06714) * "IceCube: Neutrinos from Active Galaxies" by F. Halzen (arXiv:2305.07086) * "Advanced LIGO" by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (arXiv:1411.4547) * "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger" by B.P. Abbott et al. (arXiv:1602.03837) * "Multi-Messenger Astrophysics" by P. Meszaros et al. (arXiv:1906.10212) ** Improve proposals in response to peer-review comments WEEK 15: FINALS WEEK ** Turn in final version of proposal for grading. The deadline for turning in the final version is 2024 Dec 16 at 10 am. You should turn in the final version by emailing a *single* PDF file, containing all relevant material to be graded (i.e., both the proposal forms and the scientific justification), to Niel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PEER-REVIEW FORM FOR STUDENT PRESENTATIONS Below is a peer-review form for the student presentations in Astro 550. It is meant to allow you to give constructive, anonymous feedback to the student presenters. Shortly after each student presentation, please fill out the form below and then print it two times. The second time you print it, please delete the line starting "Reviewer name:" (this will be the anonymous version given to the student presenter). Otherwise, the two printouts should be identical. Please give the non-anonymous version to Niel at the start of the next class (do not email it to Niel). Please put the anonymous version in the Department mailbox of the student presenter. Filling out these peer-review forms is required, as they will be part of the grading for the course. SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION * Presenter name: * Reviewer name: SECTION 2: OVERALL SCORE Please give an overall numerical score to this presentation, ranging from 1-10 (where 1 is the worst and 10 is the best). You should consider all of the factors in Section 3 when assigning your overall score. * Overall numerical score = SECTION 3: REVIEW QUESTIONS Please answer each question below with 2-5 thoughtful sentences. Your feedback should justify your choice of overall numerical score above. * Did the presenter cover the assigned material in an appropriately complete manner, not skipping anything important? * Did the presenter demonstrate a respectable understanding of the covered material? * Was the presentation useful? Did it cover and emphasize the key points from the reading? Were the covered topics connected in a logical manner? Could you tell the important points from the details? * Were equations and other quantitative material presented in a clear way that gave physical insight? * Was the presenter able to answer questions effectively? Were the answers correct, to the point, and polite? * Was the presenter's style good in terms of 1. Clarity and rate of speech 2. Eye contact and posture 3. Using clear overheads, figures, and fonts 4. Use of time 5. Being ready to present at the start of the class period ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PEER-REVIEW FORM FOR MOCK OBSERVATION PROPOSALS Below is a peer-review form for the mock observation proposals in Astro 550. It is meant to allow you to give constructive, anonymous feedback on the proposals. At the appropriate point in the course, please fill out the form below and then print it two times. The second time you print it, please delete the line starting "Reviewer name:" (this will be the anonymous version given to the student proposer). Otherwise, the two printouts should be identical. Please give the non-anonymous version to Niel at the appropriate time (do not email it to Niel). Please put the anonymous version in the Department mailbox of the student proposer. SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION * Proposer name: * Proposal title: * Reviewer name: SECTION 2: OVERALL SCORE Please give an overall numerical score to this proposal, ranging from 1-10 (where 1 is the worst and 10 is the best). You should consider all of the factors in Section 3 when assigning your overall score. * Overall numerical score = SECTION 3: SCORE JUSTIFICATION Please give constructive, clear feedback on the proposal. Your feedback should justify your choice of overall numerical score above. Specifically, comment on the following aspects of the proposal listed below. Some key questions are given to guide your response, although you do not have to answer all of these (or feel constrained to address only these questions). * Choice of scientific problem 1. Does the proposal address an important scientific problem? 2. Is the overall importance of the scientific problem stated compellingly? 3. Do we know the answer to the problem already or not? 4. Does the proposer seem to understand the scientific problem in depth? * Proposed observations and specific science goals 1. Are the proposed observations and targets presented clearly? 2. Are the proposed targets the best ones to address the problem? 3. Is the proposed observatory the best one for this project? 4. Are the specific measurements that will be made explained clearly? 5. Is it clear how the measurements will test hypotheses? 6. Can the measurements effectively address the scientific problem? 7. Is the proposal a good value? Is it likely to deliver a good amount of science relative to its observational cost? * Technical feasibility 1. Are target X-ray fluxes and other target parameters justified well? 2. Is the expected data quality explained clearly? 3. Are realistic expected errors on measured parameters given? 4. Are the proposed exposure times justified clearly? 5. Does this proposal duplicate observations that have already been done? 6. Are there any other problems with the technical feasibility? * Style 1. Does the proposal read clearly? 2. Is the usage of English good? 3. Is the boldfacing and italicizing of text appropriate? 4. Are the figures and tables relevant and easily understandable? 5. Is the referencing of scientific papers appropriate? ------------------------------------------------------------------------