Galaxies (Itziar Aretxaga, 5 lectures):
An overview of galaxies in the nearby and distant universe, their constituents, scaling laws and evolution through cosmic time.
Lecture 1: Introduction to the galaxy zoo
• General properties and structure
• Standard stellar population indicators
• Dark matter in galaxies
Lecture 2: Scaling relations
• Dn-sigma
• Fundamental planes
• Main sequence of star formation and Starbursts
Lecture 3: Active Galactic Nuclei
• Multifrequency detection of nuclear activity
• Energetics
• Unification
• Basic concepts of the standard model of AGN
• Demographics of QSOs and BHs
• Feedback
Lecture 4: Galaxies through cosmic time
• Surveys
• Star formation history
• Gas depletion history
• Simple models of galaxy formation and evolution
Lecture 5: LSS and Galaxy clusters
• Local group and nearby structures
• Search for clusters
• Galaxies in clusters
• Cluster mass estimates
• Cosmological probes of clusters
• Mo, van den Bosch & White (2010). Galaxy Formation and Evolution, CUP.
• Galaxies in the Universe, Sparke & Gallagger, (2007), Cambridge University Press
• “An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei”, B.P.Peterson, 1997, CUP
• “The Physics and Evolution of AGN”, H. Netzer, 2013, CUP
• the papers can be found in ADS or arXiv lists
• Ned Wright´s Cosmology Calculator: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CosmoCalc.html
• NASA Extragalactic Database: http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu
Machine Learning (Helena Domínguez Sánchez, 4 lectures)
Day 1
Lecture1:
– ML overview
Lecture 2:
– Supervised Learning
– Unsupervised learning
Hands-on session: spectral classification
Day 2
Lecture 1:
– Neural Networks
– Convolutional Neural Networks
Lecture 2:
– Contrastive learning
– Generative models
– Advanced ML
Hands-on session: Galaxy image classification with CNN
Cosmology (David Mota, 5 lectures)
Course Outline
Cosmological models and parameters, extragalactic distance scale, cosmological tests; constituents of the universe, dark matter, and dark energy; thermal history of the universe, cosmic nucleosynthesis, recombination, and cosmic microwave background.
Lecture 1: The observational context
- Large scale structure distribution in the Universe
- Hubble expansion
- The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- Dark matter
- Dark Energy
Lecture 2: The theory of gravitation and inflationary cosmology
- General Relativity, FRW cosmology
- Puzzles of expansion, flatness, horizon
- Inflation scenario
- Fluctuation spectrum emerging from the inflationary epoch
Lecture 3: The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
- CMB as a probe of the geometry
- CMB as a probe of dark matter
- Cosmological parameters inference
Lecture 4: Gravitational Wave Astronomy
- Electromagnetic waves vs. Gravitational waves
- Sources of gravitational waves
- Interference detectors
- Observations of compact objects
Lecture 5: Research topic: Galaxy clusters as probes of dark energy, dark matter and gravity
Cosmology (David Mota, 5 lectures)
Course Outline
Cosmological models and parameters, extragalactic distance scale, cosmological tests; constituents of the universe, dark matter, and dark energy; thermal history of the universe, cosmic nucleosynthesis, recombination, and cosmic microwave background.
Lecture 1: The observational context
- Large scale structure distribution in the Universe
- Hubble expansion
- The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- Dark matter
- Dark Energy
Lecture 2: The theory of gravitation and inflationary cosmology
- General Relativity, FRW cosmology
- Puzzles of expansion, flatness, horizon
- Inflation scenario
- Fluctuation spectrum emerging from the inflationary epoch
Lecture 3: The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
- CMB as a probe of the geometry
- CMB as a probe of dark matter
- Cosmological parameters inference
Lecture 4: Gravitational Wave Astronomy
- Electromagnetic waves vs. Gravitational waves
- Sources of gravitational waves
- Interference detectors
- Observations of compact objects
Lecture 5: Research topic: Galaxy clusters as probes of dark energy, dark matter and gravity
Interstellar Medium of Galaxies (Frédéric Galliano, 4 lectures)
Description: The interstellar medium (ISM), made up of the gas and dust between the stars in galaxies, holds important clues related to the evolution of galaxies. This course will introduce students to the different components and phases of the ISM, which cover a vast range of physical conditions. How the ISM is continuously modified during the life cycle of stars, forming the basis for successive generations of star formation will be discussed. We will look at ISM properties revealed by current observations of the variety of galaxies from both ground-based and space-based missions, connecting the ISM properties with observations in some case studies.
Lecture 1: ISM Introduction
- Phases and composition of the ISM
- Interstellar gas basics
- Interstellar dust basics
- Interstellar Radiation Field
- Cosmic Rays
Lecture 2: Heating and cooling processes of the ISM
1- Interstellar Dust
- Scattering and absorption of starlight by dust particles
- Properties of dust and PAHs – composition, sizes, temperatures
- Dust Spectral Energy Distribution
- The life cycle of dust
- Metallicity and elemental abundances
Lecture 3: Heating and cooling processes of the ISM
2- Interstellar Gas
- HII regions; using Orion as example
- Photodissociation regions – structure and chemistry; Orion as example
- Grain surface chemistry; H2 formation; CO as a proxy of H2 mass.
- Millimeter spectroscopy; measuring physical properties of molecular clouds
- Star Formation rate
Lecture 4:
Dynamical processes
- Stellar Winds
- Supernovae Shocks
- Turbulence and Molecular Cloud Formation
Star Formation rate tracers (including Kennicutt Schmidt relation)
Case studies of galaxies – what current observations reveal (e.g. JWST, ALMA, Herschel, etc)
Bibliogrraphy:
The Physics and Chemistry of the ISM, by Xander Tielens (Cambridge University Press; 2005)
Physics of the Interstellar and Intergalactic Medium, by Bruce Draine (Princeton University Press; 2011)
Small Bodies in the Solar System (Naceur Bouziani, 4 lectures)
Lecture 1: Development of planetary science
This lecture offers a brief historical overview of planetary science, challenging usual perceptions of the solar system. The lecture illuminates key characteristics of the solar system, emphasizing the pivotal role of small bodies Understanding the physical and chemical conditions of the solar system’s birth.
· Brief History: From Prehistoric Era to Sample-Return Era
· Key Features of the Solar System
· Why Are We Interested in Small Bodies?
Lecture 2: Journey into Small & Primitive Bodies
This course delves into the world of comets, providing insights into their origin, physics, and residence. It explores their crucial role in shaping the early structure of the Solar System and examines the impact of constraints on the conditions surrounding the Solar System’s birth. The course also covers asteroids, including active ones, and highlights major missions to explore these objects.
· Proto-planetary Disk and the Solar System’s Origin
· The Inner Solar System
· The Middle Solar System
· The Outer Solar System
· Physical Chemistry of Comets
· Unraveling Phenomena Observed on Comets
· Showcasing Research on Nucleus Modeling
Lecture 3: Impact Dynamics
Centered on the dimensions of impactors, this lecture illustrates the underlying physical principles governing impact phenomena and their anticipated effects. Delve into the impact events on Earth’s living species, understanding their roles in both extinction and evolution. Acquire insights into how the collision process might have influenced the other solar system’s bodies.
· Impacts and impactor size
· Moon formation: Earth’s oldest impact
· Characterization of impactor effects (from micron-sized dust particles to city-sized objects)
· Impact-induced changes on Earth : mammalian development, for example
· Planetary defense strategies
Lecture 4: Non-Geocentric Perspectives on the Origins of Life
This course explores astrobiology and origins, taking a non-geocentric viewpoint. It examines the exchange of matter among solar system bodies and identifies potential shelters for life precursors within our solar system.
· Brief Overview of Astrobiology
· Prebiotic Precursors within Small Bodies, Meteorites, Satellites ?
· Exchange of Material Between Bodies
· Habitable Zones in Exoplanetary Systems
Observational Optical Astronomy (Roger Hajjar, Nassim Seghouani; Amina Boulkaboul, Yacine Damerdji, 6 lectures)
Lecture 1: (RH)
Basic instruments properties. In that first lecture, we will introduce the basic framework behind conceiving an observational project. We will also go over some of the basic properties of instruments reviewing telescopes, imaging systems, spectrographs and polarimeters, with a basic introduction to CCDs.
Lecture 2:(RH)
Introduction to Photometry, including atmospheric effect on radiation. The concept of seeing and its impact will also be covered. We will also go over basic requirements for the reduction of science data obtained with CCDs.
Lecture 3: (RH)
Introduction to Signal to Noise calculations and data reduction software.
Lecture 4: (NS)
Introduction to Time series analysis. We will speak about Fourier transform, data sampling, effect of windowing, with hands on data.
Lecture5: (AB)
1. Observing Basics : Coordinate systems
2. Quantitative measurements of light : specific intensity,apparent/absolute magnitudes, …
3. Spectroscopy
Lecture 6 :(YD)
Radial velocity measurements in single-line spectroscopic binary stars, Exoplanets and eclipsing binaries with Hands on data.
Virtual Observatory and Databases in Astronomy (Mirjana Povic, 3 lectures)
Course description:
Astronomy is an observational science that depends on access to telescope time and data. Today, most astronomical data are free and available to the scientific community at large through different repositories and databases. There is access to an enormous amount of high-quality free multiwavelength data and the first-class science can be done even with very limited or no funding at all. This course will focus on introducing some of the main databases used in astronomy to access
and download different types of data (e.g. catalogues, images, spectra). It will also introduce the Virtual Observatory (VO) for accessing data archives and some of the free and commonly used software tools developed in the framework of the VO to facilitate the manipulation and analysis of astronomical data.
Course content:
Lecture 1 :
– Search for publications in astronomy/physics (ADS/NASA, arXiv, astro-ph).
– VizieR: search for catalogues in astronomy.
– NED, SIMBAD: search for general information, images, spectra, etc.
– Access to data through telescope archives and surveys/missions repositories.
Lecture 2 :
– Accessing Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) data via VizieR and NED.
– Introduction to the Virtual Observatory, its archives and software tools.
– Introduction to TOPCAT (for catalogues), Aladin (for images), and SPLAT (for spectra)
Lecture 3 :
– TOPCAT practice through exercises
– Aladin practice through exercises
– SPLAT practice through exercises
Needed for the course:
– installation of TOPCAT-VO (https://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/)
– installation of Aladin-VO (http://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/aladin.gml)
– installation of SPLAT-VO (http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~pdraper/splat/splat.html)
Short bio of the lecturer:
Mirjana Povic is a Serbian-Spanish astrophysicist, working as an assistant professor at the Space Science and Geospatial Institute in Ethiopia, an associate researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain, and as an honorary lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda. She obtained her PhD in astrophysics in 2010 from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Spain). Her main research interests are galaxy formation and , in particular nuclear activity in galaxies, star formation, morphological classification of galaxies, and galaxy clusters. In addition, for almost 20 years, she worked on development in astronomy, science, and education in different parts of Africa, through different projects and initiatives related to research collaborations, education, institutional development, human capacity building, policy development, and women and girls in science. She is a current secretary of the IAU Division C on Education, Outreach and Heritage, African Astronomical Society Science and Executive Committees member, co-convener of the Astrophysics and Cosmology Working Group under the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics, and founder of the African Network of Women in Astronomy. She received several awards and recognitions for her scientific achievements and contribution to society, in particular for her work in Africa, including the 2018 inaugural Nature Research Award for Inspiring Science, and the 2021 inaugural European Astronomical Society Jocelyn Bell Burnell Inspiration Medal. She believes that through education, science, and technology we can combat poverty in the long term and make our world to be a better place for everyone in the future, regardless of where the children are born.
Radio Astronomy (James Chibueze, 5 lectures)
Description: An introduction to the fundamentals of radio astronomy and radio interferometry. The emission processes, their detection techniques as well as hands-on ‘lecture’ on radio astronomical data handling will be covered.
Lecture 1: Radio waves and emission and their properties
• Continuum emission
• Spectral line emission
• Properties of radio signal
Lecture 2: Radio telescopes
• Antenna beams
• Feed Systems
• Antenna efficiency
• Operation principle of radio telescopes
Lecture 3: Single-dish radio telescope
• Sample science cases and techniques
• Pointing, bandpass, point source sensitivity
• Sample data processing
Lecture 4: Fundamental of radio interferometry
• Aperture synthesis
• Very long baseline interferometry
Lecture 5: Radio interferometric data processing
Software: UNIX OS pcs (laptops) with a minimum RAM of 16GB and at least 250GB storage. I will installed the required softwares on arrival.
Bibliography
* Burke, Graham-Smith, Wilkinson, An Introduction to Radio Astronomy (4th ed) * Thompson, Moran, Swenson Jr, Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy (3rd ed)
Stellar Astrophysics (Alessandro Bressan, 5 lectures)
Lecture 1) Stars and stellar populations.
Magnitudes; Colors; Distances; Proper Motions;
Spectral classification; The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram; Star clusters;
Stellar ages and element abundances: archaeology of the Milky Way.
Lecture 2) The equations of stellar structure.
Mass and momentum conservation. The Virial theorem.
Energy transport and energy conservation.
Numerical Methods: solution of the system of stellar structure equations.
Lecture 3) From the Pre Main Sequence to the Main Sequence.
Cloud collapse, fragmentation and proto-star contraction.
Opacity of stellar matter.
Low temperature nuclear reactions.
Proton-Proton cycle and CNO cycle;
Mixing of elements.
Evolution in the HRD
Lecture 4) Post Main Sequence evolution of Low and Intermediate mass stars.
Equation of state with electron degeneracy.
The Red Giant Branch. The Helium Flash. The Horizontal Branch.
Cepheids.
The Asymptotic Giant Branch.
White Dwarfs.
Lecture 5) Massive stars.
The HRD of massive stars.
Stellar winds and stellar evolution with mass-loss.
Stellar Rotation.
Wolf-Rayet stars.
Advanced evolutionary phases, neutrino losses and pre-supernova nucleosynthesis.
Supernovae: electron-capture and core collapse SN; pair-instability SN; compact remnants.
(Type Ia Supernovae)
Solar Astrophysics (Tiago Pereira, 6 lectures)
Lecture 1: The solar interior and structure
* The Sun in context: our closest star
* Generation and transport of energy
* Layers of the Sun
* Rotation and oscillations
Lecture 2: Convection and magnetism
* Convection
* Solar cycle
* Solar dynamo
Lecture 3: The Solar Atmosphere
* The photosphere: models and observations
* Radiative transfer, spectroscopy, and polarimetry
* The chemical composition of the Sun
Lecture 4: Hands-on session: solar observations and models
* Computer exercises: formation of spectral lines
* Downloading and exploring solar data: VSO, JHelioviewer
* Computer exercises: analysing solar images
Lecture 5: The Upper Solar Atmosphere
* The chromosphere and transition region
* The million-degree corona
* Solar wind
Lecture 6: The Active Sun
* Violent and explosive events
* Magnetic reconnection
* Flares and coronal mass ejections
* Space weather and consequences for Earth
High Energy Astrophysics (Marat Gilfanov, 03 lecture)
Lecture 1: Emission and absorption processes in high energy astrophysics.
Radiation and its interaction with matter. Radiative transfer equation. Absorption and emission processes, role of scatterings. Thermal equilibrium, Kirchhoff’s law, Planck spectrum. Bremmstrahlung and synchrotron emission. Comptonization and Kompaneetz equation. Ionization balance. Thermal emission of plasma. Photoionization.
Lecture 2: Compact objects and accretion.
Compacts objects: white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes; relevant aspects of the theory of stellar evolution.
Accretion: Bondi accretion and accretion with large angular momentum, Roche lobe geometry, disk accretion, wind accretion, boundary layer between the accretion disk and the neutron star.
Lecture 3: X-ray sources and phenomena.
X-ray objects and phenomena: X-ray binaries, X-ray bursters, X-ray pulsars, X-ray novae and other transients, ultra-luminous X-ray sources.
Spectral formation in X-ray binaries: geometry of the accretion flow, spectral components, spectral states and transitions, (quasi-) periodic and aperiodic variability.