INSTRUCTOR:
Professor Fulvio Melia
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 am - 2:00 pm in
PAS 447
and most other times (but call 621-9651 or e-mail
first to make sure I'm in)
LECTURES: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 am - 10:45 am in
Steward 202
FINAL LECTURES: Download here.
HOMEWORK SOLUTIONS:
Homework # 1; Solutions #1.
Homework # 2; Solutions #2.
Homework # 3; Solutions #3.
Homework # 4; Solutions #4.
Homework # 5; Solutions #5.
Homework # 6; Solutions #6.
TEXTBOOK:
Melia, High-Energy Astrophysics (Princeton University Press, 2008)
Recommended reading:
Shapiro and Teukolsky, Black Holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars
Rybicki and Lightman, Radiative Processes in Astrophysics
TOPICS COVERED DURING THE SEMESTER:
Introduction and Motivation (7 Lectures)
- High-Energy Astrophysics
- Energies, timescales, luminosities
- Experimental Tools of High-Energy Astrophysics (HEA)
- Atmospheric absorption
- UV, X-ray, and Gamma-ray detectors
- Balloons, Space-based astronomy
- Past, present, and pending HEA Telescopes
- Sky Maps
- X-rays (diffuse, point sources)
- Gamma-rays (point sources)
- Classes of Sources and Archetypical Objects
- Pulsing sources (White Dwarfs, Neutron stars)
- Cygnus X-1
- Transient X-ray and Gamma-ray sources
- The Galactic Center
- Active Galactic Nuclei
Basic Theoretical Tools (8 Lectures)
- Relativity
- Overview of Special Relativity
- Overview of General Relativity
- Particle Acceleration
- Gravity
- Electromagnetic Fields
- Fermi Mechanism
- Radiative Processes
- Thermal Bremsstrahlung
- Thermal Synchrotron
- Non-thermal Synchrotron
- Compton Scattering
- Non-magnetized matter
- Radiative Transfer
- Non-magnetized matter
- Strongly-magnetized plasma
Sources of Energy (7 Lectures)
- Nuclear Burning
- Spherical Accretion
- Capture Radius
- Sonic Point
- Heating and Cooling Effects
- Embedded Magnetic Fields
- Thin Disk Accretion
- Roche Lobe Geometry
- Standard Thin Disk Theory (formation, viscosity, structure)
- Boundary Layers
- Accretion columns
- Thermally unstable inner regions
- Two-temperature thin disks
- Thick Disk Accretion
- Super-Eddington Accretion
- Angular-momentum distribution
- Geometry
- Funnels and Jet formation
- Accretion spin-up
Galactic X-Ray Sources (3 Lectures)
- Magnetospheric Physics
- Isolated Neutron Stars (Radio Pulsars)
- X-ray Pulsars
- Evolution of X-ray Binaries
- Massive binaries containing neutron stars
- Low-mass binaries containing neutron stars
- Cataclysmic Variables
- X-Ray Burst Sources
- Thermonuclear Flash Model
- Implications for neutron-star structure
- The Black Hole Candidate Cygnus X-1
- Multi-wavelength observations
- The Comptonized Spectrum Model
The Galactic Center (1 Lecture)
- E1740, the source of electron-positron radiation
- The supermassive black hole candidate Sgr A*
Active Galactic Nuclei (2 Lectures)
- Multiwavelength Observations, Classes
- The Accretion-Disk interpretation for the "blue bump"
- X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission Mechanisms
- The Gamma-ray OVV 3C279 observed with GRO
Gamma-ray Burst Sources (1 Lecture)
- Spectra
- Spatial Distribution
- The Evidence for a Cosmological Source
PROBLEM SCHEDULE
- Problem set 1, Special Relativity. (due Feb 7)
- Problem set 2, General Relativity. (due Feb 21)
- Problem set 3, Acceleration Mechanisms. (due March 6)
- Problem set 4, Sources of High-Energy Emission. (due April 3)
- Problem set 5, Compact Objects. (due April 17)
- Problem set 6, Sources at Cosmological Distances. (due May 1)
METHOD OF EVALUATION
- Problems (20%)
- Midterm exam on March 10 (20%)
- Presentation of an ApJ Letter (20%)
- Final (Monday, May 12) (40%)
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