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MVAstro3 consists of lectures (Tuesdays from 14:15 - 16:00), exercises (Tuesdays from 16:15 - 17:00), a seminar (nominally on Thursdays, but the students usually decide to have block seminars instead), and a written exam. For students seeking to acquire credit points (usually B.Sc. and M.Sc. students), participation in all these is mandatory. For students who don't need credit points (usually PhD students), the exercises, seminar ans exam are irrelevant. Depending on the number of participants in the exercises, we will either have one or else two exercise groups.
Content
Module Part 1: Lecture “Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy” (4 CP)
- Galaxy types and classification, correlations with physical properties,
stellar populations, population synthesis, chemical evolution concepts and
models (2);
- Milky Way (3): halo, bulge / pseudo bulge, central black hole, thin and
thick disk, spiral structure, star clusters, star formation history and chemical
enrichment, formation scenarios (e.g., Eggen-Lynden-Bell-Sandage), multi-
phase interstellar medium, dust, Galactic fountain, satellites, substructure
problem, Local Group;
- Spiral and elliptical galaxies (4): Surface photometry, profiles, origin of
spiral structure, mass measurement methods, rotation / velocity dispersion,
Tully-Fisher / Faber-Jackson relation, fundamental plane, super massive
black holes, active galaxies;
- Groups and clusters (3): morphology-density relation etc., mass
measurements, gravitational lensing, luminosity functions, interactions;
intergalactic gas; dark matter;
- Growth of structure (3): Origin of matter and elements, large-scale-
structure formation, large-scale matter distribution, redshift surveys, weak
lensing, galaxy formation and evolution, red / blue sequence, downsizing,
scaling relations, Butcher-Oemler effect, cosmic star formation history,
Lyman alpha forest, high-redshift universe, reionization, problems in galaxy
formation.
Module Part 2: Seminar (2 CP)
- Presentations and discussions on selected topics in Galactic and
extragalactic astronomy
Goal
When successfully completing this course, the students are able to report on the properties of the wide range of galaxy types, understand their origin and evolution, and can elucidate the physical factors governing their evolution. They understand the main physical processes that shape the appearance of galaxies and galaxy clusters. They know about the connection between cosmological structure formation and the populations of visible objects. They have gained experience in applying dimensional and scaling arguments to estimate the relative importance of different physical processes.