Galaxies, Quasars and the Universe (U01366)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 9 ? Acronym : PHY-3-GalQuas

A broad introduction to the extragalactic universe. The course covers the properties of our own Galaxy, the basic properties of other galaxies, some simple introductory cosmology (no relativity required), the large scale structure of the Universe, and the properties and physics of active galactic nuclei.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Physics 2B: Waves, Quantum Physics and Materials (PHY-2-B); Foundations of Mathematical Physics (PHY-2-FoMP) or Principles of Mathematical Physics (PHY-2-PoMP); Astronomy A: The Physics of Stars (PHY-1-AstA) or prior attendance at Physics of Stars & Nebulae (PHY-3-StarNeb).

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Undergraduate (School of Physics), (School of Physics, Schedule Q)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
10/01/2006	11:00	12:00			ROE - LECTURE THEATRE

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	11:10	12:00	Other
Lecture	Friday	11:10	12:00	Other

? Additional Class Information : Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that the student will be able to:
1)Describe, with quantitative detail, the contents and basic structure of our own Milky Way galaxy, and the morphologies and contents of external galaxies
2)Derive the basic formulae which can be used to derive the velocity structure of our galaxy, and to describe the internal dynamics of galaxies in general, and apply these formulae to solve problems given summarised data
3)Explain, with mathematical detail how the masses of galaxies are deduced, and how the distances to galaxies have been established via the Cosmological Distance Ladder
4)Provide a quantitative overview of galaxy demographics, including number counts, luminosity functions, and the statistical description of large-scale galaxy clustering
5)Summarize the basic observational evidence for the Big Bang, and the latest observations which can be used to estimate the values of the key cosmological parameters
6)Derive and solve the basic equations describing the dynamics of an expanding, isotropic and homogenous, and use these equations to solve standard problems in cosmology
7)Derive the basic equations which can be used to determine the nature of the central engine which powers quasars and other forms of Active Galactic Nuclei, and use these equations to calculate order-of-magnitude estimates for key physical quantities
8)Provide a quantitative overview of our current understanding of the nature and evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei