Physics 343: Observational Radio Astronomy
Spring 2014

Pictures from class trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia (April 25-27, 2014):

Professor Andrew Baker Serin W309 Phone: 848-445-8887 Email: ajbaker[at]physics.rutgers.edu Instructor Jesse Rivera ARC 220 Email: jrivera[at]physics.rutgers.edu

Course meetings
Lectures: Serin 401, Monday 10:20-11:40am
Labs: Serin 403b, according to your assigned weekly time slots:

SECTION	TIME	STUDENTS
A	Mon 1:40-3:00pm	Kellen Porter, Arvinder Singh, Andy Trinker
B	Tue 12:00-1:20pm	Adam Brody, Chris Fekete, Jade Pinheiro
C	Tue 3:20-4:40pm	Kristen Fahy, Tom Leong, Asher Wasserman
D	Tue 5:00-6:20pm	Archana Dobaria, George King, Sam Rice
E	Tue 6:40-8:00pm	Matt Hale, Davide Peruzzo, Andrew Yolleck
F	Wed 10:20-11:40am	Aditya Parikh, Swati Patel
G	Wed 1:40-3:00pm	Ryan Belfer, Abby Howard, Adam Kaufman
H	Wed 3:20-4:40pm	Arran Gross, Jeffrey Kammerer, Andrew Leung

Office hours
Every week: Thursday 5:00-6:00pm (Rivera); Friday 3:20-4:40pm (Baker); or by appointment
Analysis weeks: One of us will be "on call" during each of the regular lab section times.

Textbooks
This course does not have an official textbook. However, you may find it useful (or just interesting!) to dip into Bracewell, The Fourier Transform and its Applications, Rohlfs & Wilson, Tools of Radio Astronomy, and Wall & Jenkins, Practical Statistics for Astronomers, all of which will be on reserve in SERC. The online Essential Radio Astronomy course developed by Jim Condon and Scott Ransom at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory is also an excellent reference. The operator's manual for the Small Radio Telescope on the roof can be found here.

Overview
Here's the official course catalog listing:
"Observational study of the solar system, stars, and galaxies, using the Serin 3 meter radio telescope. Emphasizes computer techniques for data reduction and analysis. Topics may include calibrating system properties, the variability of the Sun, Jupiter, or quasars, and mapping the distribution of hydrogen in our Milky Way galaxy and measuring its rotation."

I plan to teach this course so that by the end of it you will not only have experience acquiring and analyzing data from the (ahem) 2.3 meter telescope on the roof, but also an understanding of how astronomers use much larger (e.g., 100 meter) radio telescopes in their research, and what kinds of astronomical targets they observe.

Schedule
Lectures: The sequence of lecture topics may be updated during the course of the semester. The last lecture is tentatively reserved for a topic related to radio astronomy to be chosen shortly after spring break by the students enrolled in the course. This will give you an opportunity to make me sweat, thus exacting revenge for a semester's worth of quizzes and lab reports.
Labs: There will be a total of six labs in this course. Each of the first four labs will involve one week of observations and one week of analysis, with lab reports due the following Monday in lecture. The fifth lab will involve analysis of an existing dataset taken with an array of radio telescopes. The sixth lab will involve either a final set of observations with the 2.3 meter telescope on the roof, or an observing trip to West Virginia.
NRAO trip: A class trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's site in Green Bank, West Virginia has been arranged for the weekend of April 25-27. This will be a time-consuming trip (the drive alone takes 7-8 hours each way); however, it will give you a unique opportunity to see a research-grade observatory located in the center of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a variety of radio telescopes, and hands-on observing experience with a more powerful instrument than what we have available in New Jersey. Students who participate will be excused from the sixth lab.

WEEK	LECTURE	LECTURE TOPIC	LAB	DUE
1	Jan 27	course organization; introduction to radio astronomy
2	Feb 3	SNOWED OUT	Observation week # 1
3	Feb 10	lab # 1; radiative processes; specific intensity	Analysis week # 1
4	Feb 17	lab # 2; temperature scales; statistics	Observation week # 2	Report # 1
5	Feb 24	Sun, stars, and planets; (more) statistics	Analysis week # 2
6	Mar 3	lab # 3; Fourier transforms; radio antennas	Observation week # 3	Report # 2
7	Mar 10	guest lecture: the interstellar medium	Analysis week # 3
8	Mar 24	Green Bank trip; gas dynamics	Observation week # 4	Report # 3
9	Mar 31	radio telescopes; interferometry	Analysis week # 4
10	Apr 7	lab # 5; deconvolution	Observation week # 5	Report # 4
11	Apr 14	distant, dusty galaxies	Analysis week # 5
12	Apr 21	active galactic nuclei	Observation week # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO)	Report # 5
	Apr 25-27	visit to Green Bank, West Virginia
13	Apr 28	cosmic microwave background and reionization	Analysis week # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO)
14	May 5	student choice		Report # 6 (for students not visiting NRAO)

Grading
Your course grade will be based on a combination of four elements:

• quizzes during lectures (10%)
• participation during lectures (10%)
• preparation for and active participation in labs (30%)
• lab reports (50%)

Other items

• Instructor absences
  I will have to miss at least two of our regular lectures, which will be taught by one or more guest lecturers in my absence.
• Student absences
  If you miss a lecture or lab, unless I have given prior permission or it is a medical emergency, you will receive a zero for that day's quiz and will need to rely on your classmates' notes to catch up on the material you missed. All absences should be reported at this website.
• Late assignments
  I am willing to be somewhat flexible, but unless I tell you otherwise, I will deduct 10% off the top for each day a lab report is handed in late (the first deduction hits at 11:59pm on the nominal due date). This means that a lab report handed in three days late will receive at best a grade of 70%, and a report that is ten or more days late will automatically receive a zero.
• Collaboration policy
  As you are writing up your lab reports, you should first try to answer every question yourself without discussing it with others. If you get stuck, you may discuss questions with other students in the course and/or the instructors, but you should always write up your own answers. You may consult books, published papers, and reference materials on the internet, but not old lab reports from previous offerings of this course or similar courses elsewhere.
• Auditors
  Students not enrolled for credit are welcome to attend the lectures if space permits.
• Students with disabilities
  If you have a disability, let me know early in the semester so that we can make the necessary arrangements for you to have a successful learning experience. Please consult this web page for more details.