MPhys Physics with Study in Europe / Course details

This unit covers several major pillars of modern astrophysics research. It is divided into three sections, on galaxies and their constituents; compact objects, transients, and time-domain astronomy; and the early Universe and structure formation.

The first section covers the topics of how planetary systems form, how we can observe their properties, and how other constituents of galaxies such as stars and gas give rise to their observational properties and influence their formation and evolution.

The second section covers the physics of compact objects and astrophysical transients, how the compact objects are formed, their observational characteristics and how they and astrophysical transients can be used for understanding gravity, as well as the physics of gravitational lensing, and how microlensing can be used as a probe to detect compact objects, planets, and massive astrophysical compact halo objects.  

The third section covers how the cosmic microwave background radiation is used to constrain our cosmological model, how the first galaxies formed from small fluctuations in the cosmic dark matter distribution, and how these early galaxy formation processes can be studied observationally. 

The unit aims to introduce major active topics of research within astronomy and astrophysics by developing the theoretical and observational tools needed to understand key astrophysical phenomena

ILO 1

Analyse population statistics and standard observables from planetary systems and galaxies to appraise different scenarios of planet and galaxy formation.

ILO 2

Describe the properties of compact objects and astrophysical transients and assess their use for testing theories of gravity and the properties of the Universe.  

ILO 3

Compare and critique observations of the cosmic microwave background and galaxy populations with theoretical predictions of their formation and evolution.

Syllabus (S8, 36 lectures)

1.    Properties of planetary systems (3 lectures): Characterisation and demographics of planetary systems. Observational biases. Planetary atmospheres. Host star systems and habitability.

2.    Planet formation (3 lectures): Protoplanetary disks. Pebble accretion and planetesimal formation. Collisions and orbit clearing. Angular momentum transfer and migration.

3.    Galaxy populations (3 lectures): Photometry and spectroscopy of galaxies. Redshift estimation. Selection functions and K-corrections. SED fitting and spectral lines.

4.    Galaxy evolution (3 lectures): Star formation and evolution within galaxies. Stellar and gas mass. Feedback mechanisms. Active galaxies. Processing of metals.

5.    Fundamental physics from compact objects I (3 lectures): Formation of neutron stars. Equations of state. Pulsar properties. Gravity tests.  

6.    Fundamental physics from compact objects II (3 lectures): Gravitational Waves (GWs). Neutron stars and supermassive black holes as sources of GWs. Detecting GWs using a pulsar timing array.  

7.    Astrophysical transients I (3 lectures): Characterisation and demographics of Fast Radio Bursts. Contributions to the Dispersion Measure. Host Galaxies. Measuring the Baryon content of the Universe. FRBs as cosmological probes.  

8.    Astrophysical transients II (3 lectures): Lens equation, Einstein radius, point-source point-lens magnification, caustics and microlensing light curves. Microlensing as a probe to detect compact objects, planets, and massive astrophysical compact halo objects.

9.    Cosmic Microwave Background observations (4 lectures): Temperature anisotropies and the power spectrum. E- and B-mode CMB polarisation. Secondary CMB anisotropies. Observational constraints on cosmological parameters.  

10.    Inflation (2 lectures): The inflationary paradigm. Slow-roll approximation.

11.    Galaxy formation (3 lectures): Linear growth of matter perturbations. Zel’dovich approximation. Spherical top-hat collapse. Gas cooling mechanisms.

12.    The first galaxies (3 lectures): Dark Ages to reionisation. Neutral hydrogen spin temperature. Lyman alpha emission. Gunn-Peterson trough. Properties of high-redshift galaxies. 

Three one hour, live in-person lectures per week where the core material with examples will be delivered. The recordings of these lectures (podcasts) will be available. The lectures are accompanied by extensive notes in the form of power-point slides, a typeset document containing the more involved mathematical derivations, and a brief summary of required knowledge from prerequisite courses.

A quiz and example sheet will be made available every week on Canvas, and detailed feedback will be made available explaining the answers. A discussion forum will be provided on Canvas where students can ask questions with answers provided by other students and the unit lead.

Binney, J. & Tremaine, S., Galactic Dynamics (2nd Ed.)

Weinberg, S., Cosmology (OUP)

Liddle, A. & Lyth, D.H., Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure (CUP)

Dodelson, S. & Schmidt, F., Modern Cosmology (AP)