Astronomy 830
Observed Properties of Stars and Galaxies

Autumn Quarter 2008

Prof. Paul Martini
MWF 9:00-10:18pm
4054 McPherson Lab

Instructor

Professor: Paul Martini: Office: 4021 McPherson Lab (292-8632); Office Hours: by appointment (or when my door is open); E-Mail: martini@astronomy.ohio-state.edu

Syllabus

Click on Class Syllabus to download the syllabus in PDF format.

Class Trip:

We will go on an observing trip to MDM the weekend of October 24, followed by a day trip to LBT on the 27th.

Grading

Homework: There will be seven homework assignments during the quarter.

Homework Schedule

Homework 1: Due Oct 3 [A Note on Error Propogation by Rick Pogge]

Homework 3: Due Oct 17

Homework 4: Due Oct 31 (Observing Project)

Homework 5: Due Nov 14

Homework 6: Due Nov 21

Homework 7: Due Dec 5

Final Exam:

The final exam will be a 'take home' format with three questions to answer in an hour and a half. The final exam will be closed book, closed notes, and could include any material we covered in the class. This includes material covered during the last week of lectures, although not the field trip itself. I do not expect you to have memorized complex equations, however you are expected to know simple scaling relationships. You have until Wednesday, December 10 at 8am to complete the final. Please seal it in the supplied envelope and slip it under my door.

Internet Resources

Here are websites that I find useful for my research:

ADS Abstract Service

astro-ph

SIMBAD

NED

Google

Reading and References

Listed below are readings from the book and references that I used in the preparation of each topic, particularly those that are seminal papers or excellent pedagogical reviews. While I strongly encourage you to read the relevant sections in the textbook, I DO NOT expect you to read the other papers. I list them here in case you are interested in pursuing a topic in greater depth than I had time to cover in class.

Part I. Properties of Stars

Distances and Motions [Sept 24]

BM Sections 2.1, 2.2

The Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission

RAVE: The Radial Velocity Experiment

astrometry.net

SCAMP

SIM Planet Quest

Masses and Radii [Sept 26]

BM Sections 3.1, 3.2

Michelson and Pease (1921), Measurement of the Diameter of alpha Orionis with the Interferometer, ApJ, 53, 249

Popper (1980), Stellar Masses, ARAA, 18, 115

Binary Star Simulator

Spectral Classification [Sept 29]

BM Section 3.3

Burgasser et al. (2006), A Unified Near-infrared Spectral Classsification Scheme for T Dwarfs, ApJ, 637, 1067

Kirkpatrick et al. (1999), Dwarfs Cooler than M: The Definition of Spectral Type L Using Discoveries from the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS, ApJ, 519, 802

Morgan and Keenan (1973), Spectral Classification, ARAA, 11, 29

Stellar Properties and Relationships [Oct 1]

BM Sections 3.4, 3.5

Anders and Grevesse (1989), Abundances of the Elements, Geo. et Cos. Acta, 53, 197

Bessel, M.S. et al. (1998), Model Atmospheres, broad-band colors, bolometric corrections, and temperature calibrations for O-M stars, AA, 333, 231 [erratum 337, 321]

Bressan et al. (1993), Evolutionary sequences of stellar models with new radiative opacities. II - Z = 0.02, AAS, 100, 647

Henry et al. (1999), The Optical Mass-Luminosity Relation at the End of the Main Sequence (0.08-0.20 Msolar, ApJ, 512, 864

Paczynski, B. (1998), Gravitational Microlensing with the Space Interferometry Mission, ApJ, 494, L23

Popper (1980), Stellar Masses, ARAA, 18, 115

Stellar Photometry and Spectrophotometry [Oct 3]

BM Section 2.3

Bessell, M. (2005), Standard Photometric Systems, ARAA, 43, 293

Extrasolar Planets [Oct 6, 8]

Butler, P. (2006), Catalog of Nearby Exoplanets, ApJ, 646, 505

Gould, A. et al. (2006), Frequency of Hot Jupiters and Very Hot Jupiters from the OGLE-III Transit Surveys toward the Galactic Bulge and Carina, AcA, 56, 1

The website exoplanets.org has the latest data from the California-Carnegie Team

More information about transits is available on the web page of the Kepler Mission.

Interstellar Extinction [Oct 10]

BM Section 3.7

Cardelli, J.A., Clayton, G.C., and Mathis, J.S. (1989) The relationship between infrared, optical, and ultraviolet extinction, ApJ, 345, 245

Mathis, J.S. (1990), Interstellar dust and extinction, ARAA, 28, 37

Schlegel, D.J., Finkbeiner, D.P., and Davis, M. (1998), Maps of Dust Infrared Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Foregrounds, ApJ, 500, 525

Stellar Luminosity Function [Oct 13]

BM Section 3.6

Gould, A., Bahcall, J.N., and Flynn, C. (1996), Disk M Dwarf Luminosity Function from Hubble Space Telescope Star Counts, ApJ, 465, 759

Stellar Evolution in an Observational Context [Oct 15]

BM Section 5.1

Bressan, A. et al. (1993) Evolutionary sequences of stellar models with new radiative opacities. II. Z = 0.02, AAS, 100, 647

Girardi, L. et al. (2000) Evolutionary tracks and isochrones for low- and intermediate-mass stars: From 0.15 to 7 Msun, and from Z=0.0004 to 0.03, AAS, 141, 371

Heger, A. et al. (2003) How Massive Single Stars End Their Life, ApJ, 591, 288

Pulsating Stars [Oct 17]

BM Section 5.1.10

Observational Techniques [Oct 20, 22] Stellar Distribution in the Milky Way [Oct 29]

BM Chapter 6

Belokurov, V. et al. (2006) The Field of Streams: Sagittarius and Its Siblings, ApJ, 642, L137

Stellar Kinematics [Oct 31]

BM Sections 10.3, 10.7

Olling, R. and Dehnen, W. (2003) The Oort Constants measured from Proper Motions, ApJ, 599, 275

Dehnen, W. and Binney, J.J. (1998) Local stellar kinematics from HIPPARCOS data, MNRAS, 298, 387

Eggen, O.J., Lynden-Bell, D., Sandage, A.R. (1962) Evidence from the motions of old stars that the Galaxy collapsed, ApJ, 136, 748

Searle, L. Zinn, R. (1978) Compositions of halo clusters and the formation of the galactic halo, ApJ, 225, 357

Galactic Chemistry [Nov 3]

BM Sections 5.2, 5.3

McWilliam, A. (1997) Abundance Ratios and Galactic Chemical Evolution, ARAA, 35, 503

Part II. Properties of Galaxies

Morphological Classification of Galaxies [Nov 5]

BM Section 4.1

Galaxy Luminosity Function [Nov 7]

BM Section 4.1, 4.2

Surface Photometry [Nov 10]

BM Section 4.3

Graham, A.W. and Driver, S.P. (2005)A Concise Reference to (Projected) Sérsic R1/n Quantities, Including Concentration, Profile Slopes, Petrosian Indices, and Kron Magnitudes, PASA, 22, 118 (see astro-ph/0503176)

Properties of Elliptical Galaxies [Nov 12]

BM Section 4.4

Dressler, A. et al. (1987) Spectroscopy and photometry of elliptical galaxies. I - A new distance estimator, ApJ, 313, 42

Djorgovski, S. and Davis, M. (1987) Fundamental properties of elliptical galaxies, ApJ, 313, 59

Properties of Disk Galaxies [Nov 14]

BM Section 4.4

Groups and Clusters [Nov 17]

BM Section 4.1

Dressler, A. (1980) Galaxy morphology in rich clusters - Implications for the formation and evolution of galaxies, ApJ, 236, 351

Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series Volume 3: Clusters of Galaxies: Probes of Cosmological Structure and Galaxy Evolution, eds. Mulchaey, Dressler, and Oemler

The Local Group [Nov 19]

BM Section 4.1.4

Grebel, E.K., Gallagher, J.S. Harbeck, D. 2003, The Progenitors of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies, AJ, 125, 1926

Tumlinson, J. 2006, Near-field cosmology and the first stars: Insights from chemical evolution, New Astronomy Reviews, 50, 101

ISM in Galaxies [Nov 21,24]

BM Chapter 8

Young, J.S. and Scoville, N.Z. (1980) Molecular gas in galaxies, ARAA, 29, 581

Star Formation [Nov 26]

BM Section 8.2.8

Kennicutt, R.C. (1998) Star Formation in Galaxies Along the Hubble Sequence, ARAA, 36, 189

Galaxy Kinematics [Dec 1]

BM Chapter 11

Cosmic Distance Scale [Dec 3, 5]

BM Chapter 7

Freedman, W.L. et al. (2001) Final Results from the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project to Measure the Hubble Constant, ApJ, 553, 47

Copyright Statement

All of the written materials provided in these web pages are copyrighted by the course instructor, except as noted. In addition, some images and animations are also copyrighted by the instructor, while others are copyrighted by the original sources. Please read the Copyright Statement before you make copies of any of these web pages for any purpose. Use of these notes implies that you have read and understood the copyright statement. The images at the top of this page are (left) George Ellery Hale using the spectrohelioscope (Credit: Mrs. Christine Shirely) and Edwin Hubble at the Palomar 48 inch (Credit: Mt. Wilson Archive of the Carnegie Institution of Washington).

Astronomy 830 Observed Properties of Stars and Galaxies