ASTR 4003 / 8003 -- High Energy Astrophysics

Semester 1, 2019

PDF version of this syllabus

Instructors

Mark Krumholz
Roland Crocker

Class meeting times

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 AM - 12 PM
Woolley Seminar Room

Topics

This course covers high-energy astrophysics, defined roughly as the astrophysics of sources that emit radiation in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, though they may also emit at other wavelengths. The first half of the course is devoted to physical processes associated with the emission and absorption of high energy radiation, and covers radiative transfer, bremsstrahlung, synchotron radiation, and Compton scattering. The second half of the course applies this physical background to a variety of astrophysical systems, including accretion disks, compact objects, and cosmic rays propagating through the interstellar medium.

Texts

This course will use two textbooks: Radiative Processes in Astrophysics, by Rybicki and Lightman (out of print, but easily ordered from resellers), and High Energy Astrophysics, by Longair. These books are highly recommended but not required. Two additional books that may be useful are Accretion Power in Astorphysics, by Frank, King, & Raine, and The Physics of Astrophysics I: Radiation by Shu.

Assignments and grading

There will be 6 problem sets for this course, due on the dates indicated below. Problem sets are due by close of business on the indicated day. In addition, there will be an oral final exam during the exam period. These exams will be scheduled individually. Each problem set is worth 10% of the final grade, and the final exam is worth the remaining 40%. Late assignments will be accepted up to one week after the due date (when graded assignments will normally be returned, and solutions made available), at a penalty of 5% per working day. Assignments may be submitted either via the course wattle page or on paper to one of the instructors.

Policy on collaboration

Group work is encouraged in this course. In particular, if your understanding is lacking in parts, as lecturers we fully encourage you to discuss and debate with other students to reach a better understanding. However, this should not lead to a number of students producing identical assignments. In the end, you must work through, understand, and answer the assignment questions yourself, not simply reproduce verbatim other students' work. See links for further information on ANU policies on plagiarism and collusion.

Schedule

In the reading list, RL = Rybicki & Lightman, L = Longair

Date	Topic	Lecturer	Reading	Work due
27 Feb	Radiative transfer I	MK
28 Feb	Radiative transfer II	MK	RL Ch. 1
6 Mar	Classical theory of light	MK
7 Mar	Electromagnetic potentials	MK	RL Ch. 2
13 Mar	The far field limit; radiation theory	MK		Problem set 1
14 Mar	Bremsstrahlung	MK	RL Ch. 3, 5
20 Mar	Relativistic electromagnetism	MK
21 Mar	Emission from relativistic particles	MK	RL Ch. 4
27 Mar	Synchrotron radiation I	MK		Problem set 2
28 Mar	Synchrotron radiation II	MK	RL Ch. 6
3 Apr	Compton scattering I	MK
4 Apr	Compton scattering II	MK	RL Ch. 7
Semester break, 8 - 23 Apr
24 Apr	Hadronic gamma-ray emission; secondary electrons	RC	L Ch. 10.1	Problem set 3
25 Apr	No class (ANZAC day)
1 May	Cosmic ray (CR) phenomenology; CR transport; diffusion; Bohm limit	RC	L Ch. 15
2 May	CR acceleration I; Hillas criterion	RC	L Ch. 16, 17
8 May	CR acceleration II; UHECR sources	RC		Problem set 4
9 May	Accretion; accretion power; Eddington limit	RC	L Ch. 14
15 May	Accretion disks; Shakura-Sunyaev alpha parameter	RC
16 May	AGN; blazars; microquasars	RC	L Ch. 18, 19
22 May	Pulsars; pulsar wind nebulae	RC		Problem set 5
23 May	Supernovae; radionuclides and gamma-ray line emission; positrons; supernova remnants	RC	L Ch. 13
29 May	Galactic plane; Galactic Centre; Fermi Bubbles	RC	L Ch. 10.3
30 May	Cosmic rays in star-forming galaxies; FIR-radio continuum correlation; dynamical effects of CRs; CR winds; dark matter & DM indirect detection	RC	L Ch. 4.8
5 Jun	No class			Problem set 6
Exam period, 6 - 22 Jun