This course is designed to introduce radio astronomical techniques and scientific results to upper level (mostly junior/senior) undergraduates and first-year graduate students.
Prerequisites
Students should have taken basic calculus physics courses covering elementary classical mechanics, macroscopic thermodynamics (e.g., the first and second laws of thermodynamics), electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics (quantization of energy and angular momentum). Courses in electromagnetism using vector calculus, special relativity, statistical thermodynamics, advanced quantum mechanics, or astronomy are not required.
Syllabus
The syllabus and lectures will closely follow the excellent web-based course Essential Radio Astronomy, developed by Jim Condon and Scott Ransom, both former staff scientists at National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Textbook
The textbook is online at the NRAO website: Essential Radio Astronomy. I will be handing out printed copies of the chapters as we get to them, so it won't be necessary to take detailed notes, but it may help to make annotations on the printed lecture notes. I also students consider purchasing the paperback text Introduction to Radio Astronomy by Burke and Graham-Smith.
I will lecture Tuesday and Thursdays from 10:55 am - 12:10 pm in room 309 VAN.
EVLA Observing project
l hope to have a 2 hour EVLA observing block allocated by the NRAO to use the in the course. More details if this program is approved.
SRT-2 Project Schedule
We will spend the month after Spring Break designing and building a complete 21-cm radio telescope system, including a phase-array planar antenna, double conversion heterodyne receiver, and FPGA-based spectrometer. We will use this system to observe the Sun and the 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen, mapping its distribution in the galaxy.
Homework
The most important part of the course, from an individual learning perspective, is the homework. I will assign homework as the beginning of class every Tuesday, to be due the following Tuesday.
Exams
There will be three take-home exams and a final exam (format TBD).
Project Report
At the end of the semester, each team of students submit a written paper summarizing their VLA observing project, and will give a 10 minute oral summary in class.
Course Grade
The course grade (letter grade will include +/- grading) will be determined by the following metrics:
- Homeworks [6 x 5% = 30%]
- Hourly exams [2 x 15% = 30%]
- EVLA observing project [20%]
- SRT-2 observing project [20%]
Department information and Classroom Procedures
-DEO contact info: Prof. Mary Reno, 203 VAN, 335-1689
- This is three s.h. course. Students are expected to spend two hours preparing for each s. hr. (6 hr/wk).
- Procedure for student complaints is described in Chapter 5 of the CLAS handbook.
- Collegiate policy on plagiarism and cheating is also found in the CLAS handbook.
- Students rights and responsibilities (from CLAS handbook):
"Your responsibilities to this class-and to your education as a whole-include attendance and participation.) You are also expected to be honest and honorable in your fulfillment of assignments and in test-taking situations (the College's policy on plagiarism and cheating is on-line in the College's Student Academic Handbook). You have a responsibility to the rest of the class-and to the instructor-to help create a classroom environment where all may learn. At the most basic level, this means that you will respect the other members of the class and the instructor, and treat them with the courtesy you hope to receive in turn."