Astronomy 401/Physics 903
Astrophysics II: Galaxies and Cosmology
Spring 2015
Instructor: Prof. Dawn Erb
Physics 472
erbd@uwm.edu
414-229-3654
Office hours Monday 1-2 pm or by appointment
Lectures: MWF 9:00 - 9:50 am
Physics 126
Course Website: http://www.gravity.phys.uwm.edu/~dawn/astron401.html
Course Description: This is the second semester of a general course (the first semester was
Astronomy 400) intended to introduce quantitative astronomy and astrophysics to students with a
physical-sciences background. A background in calculus-based physics is required. Topics
covered this semester include the Milky Way, other galaxies, galaxy formation and cosmology.
Course Textbook:
Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, 2nd Edition. Peter Schneider (Springer, 2014)
ISBN 978-3642540820
Price (UWM bookstore): $89.95 new, $62.05 used
Additional resources (not required):
An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd edition, B. W. Carroll & D. A. Ostlie (Addison
Wesley, 2006)
Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction, 2nd Edition, L.S. Sparke and J.S. Gallagher, III
(Cambridge, 2007)
Introduction to Cosmology, Barbara Ryden (Addison Wesley, 2003)
Evaluation:
Problem sets: 30%, drop lowest score
Midterm exam: 20% (Friday March 13)
Final exam: 30% (Wednesday May 13, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Research paper and short presentation: 20%
Problem sets will be given weekly, except in weeks with exams or projects. You may discuss the
problem sets with each other, but copying of others’ work is not allowed. Each problem set will
contain one problem required only for students enrolled in Physics 903. Exams will be closed
book: the midterm will be a one hour in-class exam (Friday March 13) and the final exam will be
two hours (Wednesday May 13). A short research paper and in-class presentation on a topic of
your choice (suggestions will be provided) will be due the last week of class.
For information on university policies such as religious observances, incompletes, discriminatory
conduct, etc., see: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Astronomy 401/Physics 903 Spring 2015
Expected average student time investment:
Lectures
Assigned reading
Problem sets
Research project
Review for midterm, final
Midterm
Final exam
Total
Weekly average (15 weeks) 50/60 x 42 = 35 hours
15 weeks x 2 hrs = 30 hours
9 x 6 hours = 54 hours
12 hours
6 + 10 hours = 16 hours
0.83 hours
2 hours
150 hours (50 hrs/credit)
10 hrs/week
Detailed syllabus: The following is an approximate schedule of the topics which will be
covered each day in class. Reading assignments are given by the numbers in parentheses, which
refer to sections of Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, Schneider. Not all material
presented in lecture will be in the textbook, so class attendance is essential.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Monday January 26
Overview of the Universe (1.2)
Wednesday January 28
Contents and structure of the Milky Way (2.3)
Friday January 30
Kinematics of the Milky Way I (2.4)
Monday February 2
Kinematics of the Milky Way II (2.4)
Wednesday February 4
The Galactic Center (2.6)
Friday February 6
The Hubble sequence, overview of galaxies (3.1)
Monday February 9
Spiral galaxies I (3.3, 3.4)
Wednesday February 11
Spiral galaxies II (3.3, 3.4)
Friday February 13
Elliptical galaxies I (3.2, 3.4)
Monday February 16
Elliptical galaxies II (3.2, 3.4)
Wednesday February 18
The luminosity function (3.10)
Friday February 20
Gas, dust and star formation (3.5, 3.7)
Monday February 23
Stellar populations of galaxies (3.5, 3.7)
Wednesday February 25
Galaxy spectra (3.5)
Friday February 27
Clusters and groups of galaxies (6.1, 6.2, 6.3)
Astronomy 401/Physics 903 Spring 2015
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Monday March 2
Clusters and groups of galaxies II (6.4, 6.5)
Wednesday March 4
Quasars and AGN I (5.1, 5.2)
Friday March 6
Quasars and AGN II (5.3, 5.4)
Monday March 9
The intergalactic medium (5.7, 8.5)
Wednesday March 11
Review for midterm
Friday March 13
MIDTERM EXAM
March 16 - 20
Spring break
Monday March 23
Extragalactic distance scale (2.2, 3.9)
Wednesday March 25
Expansion of the universe and Newtonian
cosmology (4.1, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3)
Friday March 27
Newtonian cosmology II (4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3)
Monday March 30
Newtonian cosmology III (4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3)
Wednesday April 1
The cosmic microwave background and the
thermal history of the universe (4.4)
Friday April 3
Non-Euclidean geometry and the RobertsonWalker metric (4.2.4, 4.2.5, 4.2.6, 4.2.7)
Monday April 6
The cosmological constant (4.2.4, 4.2.5, 4.2.6,
4.2.7)
Wednesday April 8
Cosmological distances I (4.3)
Friday April 10
Cosmological distances II (4.3)
Monday April 13
Observational cosmology: Type Ia Supernovae
(8.3)
Wednesday April 15
Observational cosmology: Cosmic microwave
background anisotropies (8.6, 8.7)
Friday April 17
Cosmic microwave background anisotropies II
(8.6, 8.7)
Monday April 20
Structure formation I (7.1, 7.2)
Wednesday April 22
Structure formation II (7.1, 7.2)
Astronomy 401/Physics 903 Spring 2015
Week 13
Week 14
Friday April 24
Structure formation III (7.1, 7.2)
Monday April 27
Reionization and galaxies at high redshift (9.1 9.4, 9.6)
Wednesday April 29
Research paper due; presentations
Friday May 1
Presentations
Monday May 4
Guest lecture
Wednesday May 6
Course review
Wednesday May 13
FINAL EXAM, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon