Course: Galactic Astronomy - Fall, 2020
Instructors: Prof. Eric Peng 彭逸西 peng@pku.edu.cn, Mr. Kaixiang Wang 王凯翔 kaixiang.wang@pku.edu.cn
Course Description
This course is aimed at the first-year graduate student in astronomy, or advanced undergraduate astronomy majors. The goal of this class is for students to gain a working knowledge of the current state of research in the field of galaxy formation and evolution. By the end of the class, the student should be able to understand the context of any colloquium-level research presentation or conference review on galaxies, and to conduct small research projects in the field.
This class is structured around lectures, group assignments and projects, student presentations, and end-of-semester debates. It is not the goal of this class to expose students to every topic in the field, but rather to explore a few important concepts in depth, and to encourage students to explore associated material. The working languages of this class are English and Python.
This course will be taught remotely.
Prerequisites
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This course does not assume any prior astronomy coursework, but those with no astronomy background will be expected to acquire quickly the relevant terminology used in astronomy and astrophysics.
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Basic computer programming and plotting skills. Previous knowledge of Python is not required, but all work will be done in Python. To learn some relevant Python, a few useful web sites include: Python for Astronomers, AstroPython, and Astropy.
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The course will be taught assuming that the following graduate courses are being taken concurrently (as is usual in the PKU schedule): Stellar Structure and Evolution, and Cosmology.
Course Overview
This course will explore the observational and theoretical underpinnings of our current understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. We will explore the following concepts:
- The language of astrophysics.
- What is a galaxy?
- Galaxy classification, statistical properties, scaling relations.
- The Milky Way and the Local Group
- Galaxy clusters
- Galaxies and dark matter - observational evidence, the halo model
- Gas cooling and star formation
- Feedback processes
- Mergers and interactions
- Stellar population synthesis
- Chemical evolution
- Dynamical evolution
- Galactic nuclei
A significant amount of class time will be devoted to discussion, projects/assignments, and debates.
References
- Galaxy Formation and Evolution, by Houjun Mo, Frank van den Bosch, and Simon White - This will be the main textbook for the class.
- Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astronomy
- Astrophysics Data Service (ADS)
Lectures
- September 22: Introduction to Galaxies
- September 29: Assignment/Discussion
- October 13: Stars and Stellar Evolution
- October 20: Assignment/Discussion
- October 27: Population Synthesis: GF&E, Section 10.3
- November 3: Assignment/Discussion
- November 10: Properties of Local and Distant Galaxies, Part 1
- November 17: Assignment/Discussion
- November 24: Properties of Local and Distant Galaxies, Part 2
- December 1: Assignment/Discussion
- December 8: The Milky Way and the Local Group
- December 15: Assignment/Discussion
- December 22: Debate preparation
- December 29: Debates
- January 5: Final project discussion
- January 12: Final project due
Projects, Assignments, and Reading
Much of learning in the class will be through the execution of group projects or homework assignments. Students are encouraged to work in groups of two (or maybe three), and also to collaborate across groups.
- Assignment 1: Due September 29 (revisions accepted until Sep 30)
- Assignment 2: Due October 21
- Assignment 3: Due November 4
- Assignment 4: Due November 23
- Assignment 5: Due December 7
- Assignment 6: Due December 14
- Assignment 7: Due December 21
- Final Project: Due 5pm, January 12
Debates
Toward the end of the semester, we will hold debates between student groups (size of two or three). These debates will roughly 45 min long, and will be on topics of current relevance in the field of galaxy evolution and formation. The format of the debate will be as follows: each side will present their case, present a rebuttal, and be open to questions from the other side and the audience. The audience will decide the winner of the debate. Potential statements to debate:
- A: The stellar initial mass function is not universal
- B: Cold dark matter is incompatible with structure on galactic scales
- C: Accretion of stars through minor merging is important for the formation of thick disks
- D: Halo mass is the main driver of galaxy evolution, and environment is secondary
Teams (to be determined)
Debates will be between two teams of two people each. One side will support the "affirmative" (agreeing with the statement), and one side will argue the "negative". Each team will have a 10 min opening statement (affirmative speaks first) and a 5 min rebuttal. After each statement, the opposing team will have a chance for 5 minutes of questions. The debate will end with audience questions. The audience (the class) will vote on the winner and the best speaker.
Grading
Class Participation: 20%
Debate: 30%
Projects and Assignments: 30%
Final Exam: 20%
Schedule
This class meets every Tuesday, 8-11am, remotely on Zoom. Please check the class Slack workspace for Zoom links and changes in schedule.