Astro769/CSI769
Special Topics in Astrophysics:
OBSERVATIONAL X-RAY ASTRONOMY
A new graduate course designed and taught by Prof. Rita Sambruna
RATIONALE : Born in the early 60s, X-ray Astronomy is becoming
of age thanks to recent development of new and improved observational
facilities. A giant leap forward was provided in the 90s by the first
generation of moderate-resolution, moderate-throughput telescopes,
including ROSAT, ASCA, and RXTE . These provided the
first detailed quantitative information about the energetics of X-ray
sources, changing forever our perception of the Universe. One of the
enduring legacies of these and earlier telescopes was that all classes
of sources, Galactic and extragalactic, emit in the X-rays. Their
properties are often unexpected, challenging current theoretical
views.
A new chapter in X-ray astronomy started in July 1999 with the the
launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), NASA's third
Great Observatory. The CXO is the first X-ray satellite to provide
sub-arcsecond X-ray imaging. The CXO also carries CCD spectrometers,
allowing moderate-resolution, spatially-resolved X-ray spectroscopy,
and dispersive gratings, affording high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy
of relatively bright sources. Thanks to its unprecedented power, the
CXO is delivering stunning new discoveries every day, unveiling the
"hottest" secrets of the Universe. The CXO was joined in the sky a few
months later by XMM-Newton , one of ESA's cornerstone
missions, providing high-throughput spectroscopy and
moderate-resolution imaging of the most distant X-ray sources of the
Universe. The capabilities of the CXO and XMM-Newton are
highly complementary, making this an exciting era to be an X-ray
astronomer. Moreover, several new and powerful X-ray missions are
planned by NASA in the next several years ( Constellation-X, MAXIM,
Generation-X ), which will achieve ambitious goals such as imaging
the event horizon of a black hole and studying primordial black holes
and galaxies at the edge of the Universe. This establishes X-ray
Astronomy as a fundamental discipline, and a milestone in the
graduate and undergraduate astronomy curriculum.
My goal in this course is to provide you with an introduction to the
exciting world of X-ray astronomy from an observer's perspective, and
show you the power of X-rays to study the Universe. You will
familiarize yourself with up-to-date results from current and past
X-ray observatories, by attending the lectures, reading original
scientific publications, writing essays, and participating to in-class
discussions of the reading material. It is my belief that the best way
to learn science is to do science. For this reason, an integral part
of the course is the final hands-on X-ray project which is performed
individually by the students (with my assistance). This is designed to
allow you to learn the basic techniques of X-ray data analysis, and
use X-ray observations to answer a well-focused scientific question.
My objective is not to transform you ipso facto into an X-ray
astronomer, but to give you a concrete, first-hand perception of X-ray
astronomy and issues related to X-ray data analysis and
interpretation.
TOPICS OF LECTURES : Review of X-ray emission processes and
X-ray instrumentation; X-ray observations of black holes, stars,
compact objects, normal and active galaxies, clusters of galaxies,
diffuse background, with an emphasis on recent results from
CXO and XMM-Newton.
PRE-REQUISITES : Astro 530 or permission of Instructor.
Get a copy of the syllabus
Abstracts of student projects: Fall 2001
Useful Links for Final Project:
X-ray databases and other links:
HEASARC
The Chandra X-ray Observatory
The XMM-Newton Observatory
Fitting engine for X-ray spectral analysis:
XSPEC
Basic information and References for sources:
NED
Refereed publications:
ADS
Preprints:
astro/ph
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This page last updated: December 11, 2001