Spring 2008 Physics 690
Special Topics in Astrophysics: The Dark Universe
Thursdays 1:40-3:40pm, Serin 372
Instructor: Saurabh W. Jha
Overview
The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our cosmological understanding: multiple lines of evidence show that we live in a Universe dominated by the effects of dark energy and dark matter. Characterizing the properties of these components is the frontier of current research. In this seminar, we will trace the development of these dark components in the standard cosmological model. We will also discuss current and proposed experiments to constrain the nature of dark matter and dark energy, and explore potential alternatives to the standard paradigm.
With quantum fluctuations in the early universe seeding superclusters and voids today, particle dark matter halos shaping and supporting galaxies, and vacuum energy driving the accelerating expansion, modern cosmology directly connects physics at the largest and smallest scales. As such, this course is broadly aimed to engage graduate students across physics, enabling a synthesis of observational, experimental, and theoretical results.
The course will have a reading/seminar format. We will meet weekly to discuss a few (~4) important papers on a specific topic, and two students will be assigned to lead the presentation for that week.
Date |
Topic |
Presenters |
Matthew Klimek, Dusan Maletic |
||
Dark matter |
||
Amruta Deshpande, Luke Hovey |
||
Matthew Calhoun, Dusan Maletic, Saurabh Jha |
||
Chelsea Sharon, Yue Zhao |
||
Danielle Buggé, Yi Zhang |
||
Saquib Ahmed, AJ Richards |
||
Dark energy |
||
Danielle Buggé, Luke Hovey |
||
Matthew Klimek, Yi Zhang |
||
AJ Richards, Chelsea Sharon |
||
Saquib Ahmed, Matthew Calhoun, Amruta Deshpande |
||
Yan-chi Shi, Yue Zhao |
||
Danielle Buggé, Chelsea Sharon, Saquib Ahmed, AJ Richards, Yi Zhang |
||
Amruta Deshpande, Matthew Klimek, Luke Hovey, Yue Zhao, Matthew Calhoun |
Grading and Format
Grading will be based on three factors: class participation (50%), seminar presentation (30%), and final presentation (20%). Because class participation is so important, missing class is not recommended! If you know you will be absent, please discuss it with me.
Each week, we will read ~4 papers from the scientific literature. Everyone is expected to read the papers, and two people will be assigned to be the discussion leaders. The leaders will prepare a journal-club style presentation (Powerpoint, Keynote, or PDF) about the papers to guide the discussion. The presentations should place the papers in context, explain the basic physics involved, highlight the main results, and critically assess the conclusions. They should be designed to last ~15 minutes per paper, so that including discussion, we cover each paper for ~30 minutes.
Presenters are required to go over their slides with me by 5pm on the Tuesday before class so I can provide feedback.
In the last two class meetings, everyone will present a paper of their own choosing based on the themes of the course.
Resources
Here are some web resources you may find helpful or indispensable:
Other Items
Auditors and other visitors are welcome, especially if you have read the papers in advance and are willing to contribute to the discussion!
Students with disabilities should consult the department policy.
Contact Information
Feel free to contact me with questions, including about any of the readings!
email: nosaurabhspam@nospam.physics.rutgers.edu
tel: 732-445-6979
office: Serin 315
office hours: by appointment; Tuesday afternoon is usually a good time.
Last updated: April 14, 2008 swj