------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCHEDULE - Astronomy 130: Black Holes in the Universe - Gravity's Fatal Attraction 2009 Spring Offering ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbreviations used below: * BR = Begelman & Rees, "Gravity's Fatal Attraction" * TH = Thorne, "Black Holes and Time Warps" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Week 01 - Jan 12 - Jan 18 - Introduction, Newtonian Gravity ----------------------------------------------------------- BR - Preface, Chapter 1 TH - Forward, Intro, Preface, Prologue, Chapter 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Week 02 - Jan 19 - Jan 25 - Special Relativity, General Relativity ------------------------------------------------------------------ BR - Chapter 1 TH - Chapter 1, Chapter 2 -------------------------------------------------------- Week 03 - Jan 26 - Feb 1 - General Relativity, Curvature -------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 1 TH - Chapter 2, Chapter 3 ------------------------------------------------ Week 04 - Feb 2 - Feb 8 - Stars and Their Fates ------------------------------------------------ BR - Chapter 2 TH - Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 05 - Feb 9 - Feb 15 - Black Holes in Binaries and Accretion Disks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 3 TH - Chapter 8 -------------------------------------------- Week 06 - Feb 16 - Feb 22 - Gamma-Ray Bursts -------------------------------------------- BR - None TH - None Read the handout article: "The Brightest Explosions in the Universe" by Neil Gehrels, Luigi Piro, and Peter Leonard (Scientific American; December 2002) Review the World Wide Web site: http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov Focus on learning about the Swift satellite and the basics of gamma-ray bursts. Also check out some of the latest press releases based on Swift results. If you want to learn more details about Swift, read the paper at the following World Wide Web site: http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0405233 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Week 07 - Feb 23 - Mar 1 - Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes ---------------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 4 TH - None Feb 27 - FIRST MIDTERM EXAM ------------------------------------------------- Week 08 - Mar 2 - Mar 8 - Active Galactic Nuclei ------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 5 TH - Chapter 9 ------------ Spring Break ------------ -------------------------------------------------------- Week 09 - Mar 16 - Mar 22 - Active Galactic Nuclei, Jets -------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 6 TH - Chapter 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Week 10 - Mar 23 - Mar 29 - Quiet Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei ---------------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 7 TH - None ---------------------------------------------- Week 11 - Mar 30 - Apr 5 - Gravitational Waves ---------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 8 TH - Chapter 10 Mar 30 - SHORT MIDTERM PAPER DUE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 12 - Apr 6 - Apr 12 - Kerr Black Holes and the No-Hair Theorem ------------------------------------------------------------------- BR - Chapter 8, Chapter 9 TH - Chapter 7 -------------------------------------------------- Week 13 - Apr 13 - Apr 19 - Black Hole Evaporation -------------------------------------------------- BR - None TH - Chapter 12 Apr 17 - SECOND MIDTERM EXAM ----------------------------------------- Week 14 - Apr 20 - Apr 26 - Singularities ----------------------------------------- BR - None TH - Chapter 13 ---------------------------------------------------------- Week 15 - Apr 27 - May 3 - Black Holes and Child Universes ---------------------------------------------------------- BR - None TH - None This week I'll give you handouts to read as well as WWW sites to explore. ------------------------------------------ Week 16 - May 7 - May 11 - Final Exams Week ------------------------------------------ May 4 - FINAL TERM PAPER DUE AT 12 NOON - Please bring it to Niel Brandt's office (507 Davey Lab). - You can slide it under the door if he is not there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------