ASTROPHYSICS SEMINAR: GALAXY FORMATION
ASTR 6000 (SPRING 2002)

TIME AND PLACE: JILA 10th Floor-Room B (4:00 - 5:15 pm, Thursdays)

PROFESSOR: Michael Shull, mshull@casa.colorado.edu

OFFICE HOURS: 9-11 A.M. Weekdays, Duane C-328, (303) 492-7827

PREREQUISITES: Graduate status in APS or PHYS (or permission of instructor)

Goals of the seminar: to show graduate students how to critically read (and referee) a scientific paper, develop independent ideas for research, and make effective oral presentations.

Molecular Hydrogen in the IGM at redshift z = 12.5 (Ricotti, Gnedin & Shull 2002) Distribution of galaxies and Lya absorbers (Penton, Stocke, & Shull 2000)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The Astrophysics Seminar (ASTR 6000) is a topical seminar, offered each semester on a different scientific subject, related to the astrophysics ``discipline courses''. This semester, in connection with the graduate courses ASTR 5740 Interstellar Astrophysics and ASTR 5770 Cosmology, the seminar will be on the topic Galaxy Formation, including both theoretical and observational issues.

The theoretical studies will include discussions of the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) paradigm for formation of large-scale structure, formation of the first stars and galactic objects, and the "feedback" of radiation and energy on the intergalactic medium (IGM).

The observational studies will include studies of the high-redshift universe (z = 2 - 30) at multiple wavelength bands, including infrared, sub-millimeter, and UV/optical. We will discuss probes of large-scale structure, dark matter, baryonic matter, and reionization of the IGM. We will also discuss observations and instrumentation on current and future NASA/ESA space-borne telescopes. Check out the following links:

After preliminary lectures and readings, members of the class will read and discuss scientific papers. This seminar will meet 15 times during the term, each Thursday at 4:00 pm, starting on January 17 and ending on May 2. There will be initial background lectures on the field by Shull, followed by student-led seminars. Later in the term, students will present papers relevant to research proposals written by assigned teams. Two students will lead the discussions of the ``paper of the week''. Each student will be responsible for reviews in several sessions. However, all students are responsible for reading the weekly paper. Please treat this reading seriously and come prepared to describe the major results of the papers.

SEMINAR TOPICS AND READING:

    Jan. 17 - Background Lecture 1 on Galaxy Formation (Shull)

    Jan. 24 - Background Lecture 2 on Galaxy Formation (Shull)

    Jan. 31 - History of Star Formation & Hubble Deep Field (Baker & Hearty)

    Feb. 7 - Cosmic Structure Formation (Neyrinck & Earle)

    Feb. 14 - Press-Schechter Theory (Jensen & Keeney)

    Feb. 21 - SN Feedback and Clusters of Galaxies (McEntaffer & ...)

    Feb. 28 -

    Mar. 7 -

    Mar. 14 -

    Mar. 21 -

    Mar. 28 - No seminar (Spring Break)

    Apr. 4 -

    Apr. 11 -

    Apr. 18 -

    Apr. 25 -

    May 2 -

Last modified Nov. 29, 2001 by J.M. Shull