Subsections
[Cr:2, Lc:1, Tt:0, Lb:1]
Knowledge of IDC 201, PHY303, PHY401, PHY411 and PHY637. Lab hours will be used for hands on with data analysis.
There will be 18 theory lectures and 6 lab sessions in this course.
- Theory lectures
- Introduction to High Energy Astrophysics: Interactions of high energy
photons: Photoelectric absorption, Thomson scattering, Compton scattering, Cherenkov radiation, Photons and the atmosphere (2L)
- Detectors: Position-insensitive detectors: Photomultiplier and photometry, Proportional counter Position-sensitive detectors:Position sensitive Proportional counter.(2L)
- X-ray Telescopes: Basics of X-ray reflection, Types of X-ray telescopes: From Einstein Observatory to Athena, lobster optics and beyond (Fresnel Lenses) (2L)
- Detectors Continued: Charge Coupled Device for X-ray Astronomy (1L) Gratings, Calorimeters, Transition edge sensors for X-ray astronomy (1L) Scintillators for Gamma-rays, Spark chamber detection of electron–positron pairs, Use in Gamma-ray Astronomy (3L)
- Astronomy beyond photons: Neutrino detection - Gallium, Cerenkov detectors, Super Kamikonde, Air showers, Auger project etc. (2L) Astrophysical Processes and Spectroscopy: Hot plasmas: Thermal Bremsstrahlung, atomic processes and line emission (1L) Examples: Stellar coronae, Supernova remnants, Hot intracluster medium and Sunyaev–Zeldovich effect (2L) Blackbody Radiation and Accretion Disks: Examples: CVs, XRBs and AGN (2L) Synchrotron Radiation and X-ray Polarization: Examples Pulsars and AGN (1L) Inverse Compton Scattering: AGN SEDs(1L)
- Lab/Hands On Sessions
- Statistics: Instrumental noise, Statistical fluctuations – “noise”, Poisson distribution, Normal distribution, Measurement significance, Propagation of errors, Background subtraction, Bright and faint source observations (1 Session)
- Comparison to theory: Finding parameters and checking hypotheses, Least squares fit, Chi square test, F-test, C-statistic (1S)
- Data Analysis of topics in X-ray Astronomy: Spectral and Timing analysis:
Stars, Accreting Binaries (WD, NS,BH), SNRs, Clusters of galaxies, and AGN (4S)
- Astronomy Methods: A Physical Approach to Astronomical Observations,
Hale Bradt, Cambridge University Press 2003
- Astrophysics Processes: The Physics Of Astronomical Phenomena,
Hale Bradt, Cambridge University Press 2004
- X-ray Detectors in Astronomy G. W. Fraser, Cambridge Astrophysics
Series, Cambridge University Press 2009
- Exploring the X-ray Universe, F.D. Seward & P.A. Charles, Cambridge
University Press 2010
- X-ray Astronomy, R. Giacconi & H. Gursky, Astrophysics and Space
Science Library, 1974, Springer.
- High Energy Astrophysics, Malcolm S. Longair, Cambridge University
Press, 2011, 3rd edition
- Accretion Power in Astrophysics, Third Edition J. Frank, A. King, &
D. Raine Cambridge Univ Press; 2002
- Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences, Philip
Bevington, D. Keith Robinson McGraw-Hill Education, 2003
