Physics 443: Galaxies and the Milky Way
Spring 2023

Instructor Andrew Baker Serin W309 Phone: 848-445-8887 Email: ajbaker[at]physics.rutgers.edu Office hours: Wed 5-6pm, Thu 4-5pm, and Fri 5-6pm (as available), or by appointment Venue Wed 12:10-1:30pm and Fri 2:00-3:20pm in ARC-206 (Allison Road Classroom Building)

Textbooks

There is one required textbook for this course:

• Cimatti, Fraternali, & Nipoti (2020), Introduction to Galaxy Formation and Evolution (ISBN-13 9781107134768)

Overview

Here's the official description from the course catalog:

Prerequisite(s): 01:750:342 or (351 and 361 and 381)

Properties of galaxies: photometry, kinematics and masses. Disk galaxies: spiral patterns, bars and warps, gas content, star formation rates, chemical evolution. Elliptical galaxies: shapes. Structure of the Milky Way. Nature of dark matter.

I plan to broaden this list of topics to include galaxies' relationships with the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and the intergalactic medium (IGM). In general, I will try to highlight subjects that are important to areas of current research in extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology (e.g., galaxy formation, the enrichment of the intergalactic medium, and the reionization of the universe).

Schedule

Both the sequence of lectures and the assignment due dates are preliminary at this point; I will update them as needed during the course of the semester.

I will include in the schedule the dates of any local talks that are relevant to the subject matter of this course. Attendance is encouraged but not required!

LECTURE	DATE	TOPIC	TEXT	DUE
1	Jan 18	course introduction; how "old" are galaxies?
	Jan 18	Physics Colloquium (3:30-4:30pm, Serin W330) L.Y. Aaron Yung (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) Paving the Way for Future Space Telescopes with Theory and Simulations
2	Jan 20	galaxy velocities and distances
3	Jan 25	observations: stars and stellar populations
	Jan 26			PS1
4	Jan 27	observations: gas and dust
5	Feb 1	guest lecturer: Prof. Kristen McQuinn the Local Group
	Feb 2			WA1
6	Feb 3	guest lecturer: Charlotte Olsen galaxy morphologies
7	Feb 8	disk galaxy kinematics: axisymmetric
	Feb 9			PS2
8	Feb 10	disk galaxy kinematics: axisymmetric
9	Feb 15	disk galaxy kinematics: bars
	Feb 16			WA2
10	Feb 17	guest lecturer: Prof. Saurabh Jha disk galaxy kinematics: spirals
11	Feb 22	galaxy centers and scaling relations
	Feb 23			PS3
12	Feb 24	elliptical galaxies: dynamics
13	Mar 1	elliptical galaxies: stars and gas
	Mar 2			WA3
14	Mar 3	elliptical galaxies: scaling relations
15	Mar 8	galaxy environments
	Mar 9			PS4
16	Mar 10	the expanding universe
17	Mar 22	the growth of structure
	Mar 23			WA4
18	Mar 24	the properties of dark matter halos
19	Mar 29	the formation of galaxies
	Mar 30			PS5
20	Mar 31	galaxy formation: theory vs. observations
21	Apr 5	active galactic nuclei (AGN)
	Apr 6			WA5
22	Apr 7	the "baryon cycle": star formation and chemical evolution
23	Apr 12	the "baryon cycle": outflows and the intergalactic medium
	Apr 13			PS6
24	Apr 14	finding high-redshift galaxies
25	Apr 19	guest lecturer: Prof. Eric Gawiser properties of high-redshift galaxies
	Apr 20			WA6
26	Apr 21	student presentations
27	Apr 26	student presentations
28	Apr 28	student presentations

Grading

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

• participation during class, which incudes no use of personal devices for texting or emailing (10%)
• six biweekly problem sets (40%)
• six biweekly writing assignments (20%)
• final project (30%)

Class participation will be scored as follows for each session:

• 10/10 points for asking or answering a question during class
• 7/10 points for being present and attentive during class
• 4/10 points for using a personal device to text or email during class

Homework assignments will be due in Canvas on Thursday at 11:59pm. Assignments will be of two types:

• problem sets (denoted "PS" above), which will include straightforward examples or extensions of material discussed in lecture, as well as more involved applications to areas of current research that may encompass some computational work
• writing assignments (denoted "WA" above), which will require no more than one page of text (prepared using a standard LaTeX template) and will be graded for prose style as well as content

The final project will include an oral presentation (delivered in one of the last three regular class meetings) and a written paper (due at 11:59pm on May 9) on a topic relevant to extragalactic astronomy. The presentation should make use of slides and be ten minutes long. The paper should include 4-6 pages long (using a standard LaTeX template), as well as figures and references in addition to the 4-6 pages of text. You may propose a topic for your final project at any time between now and March 10th, by sending me an email with the specific topic and at least five references from the astronomical literature that you propose to use. I will approve projects on a first-come, first-serve basis; for any student who does not propose a topic of your own, I reserve the right to choose a topic for you after spring break.

Other items

• Absences
  I will have to miss four of our regularly scheduled classes, which will be taught by guest lecturers (or recorded on Zoom) in my absence. If you need to miss a class for some reason, please file a report at this website. There will be no direct penalty to your grade for missing class; however, since I will only be posting slides and equation sheets to the course website, you will not have the full context of the lecture, and you may need to rely on your classmates' notes to fill any gaps.
• Late assignments
  Unless you request advance permission and I grant it to you, I will start docking points at a rate of 10% off the top per day for each assignment.
• Collaboration policy
  On homework assignments, you should first try every exercise yourself before discussing it with others. If you get stuck (or finish and would like to compare answers), you may discuss exercises with other students in the course and/or me, but you should always write up your own solutions and indicate on your solutions whom you collaborated with. You may consult books and published papers, but not old solution sets from previous offerings of this course or similar courses elsewhere.
• 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.
• Student wellness resources
  Like my other Rutgers colleagues, I do not want academic success to come at the expence of your health! The resources listed below are provided in case you are (or another student is) going through a rough patch.
  • 24/7 crisis resources (if you or someone you know is in crisis and having thoughts of death, dying, or suicide)
    • 911 Emergency: if you have an emergency in need of immediate attention, call 911
    • NJ Hopeline (suicide prevention): 855-654-6735
    • National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988
    • Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
    • University Behavioral Health Care Acute Psychiatric Services (24-hour emergency service for local residents): 855-515-5700
    • Rutgers University Police Department: 732-932-7211
    • for students living on campus: contact your Resident Assistant (RA) or RA on duty
    • Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA): For victims of crimes, including sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. Free and confidential resources are available by phone 24/7. vpva.rutgers.edu, 848-932-1181.
  • Campus Support Resources (for non-crisis situations)
    • Counseling, Alcohol & Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS): Mental health services, health.rutgers.edu/CAPS, 848-932-7884. M–F, 8:30 am–4:30 pm.
    • A CAPS counselor is always available during regular business hours for students with immediate needs (walk in or by phone 848-932-7884).
    • CAPS After Hours: A telephone-based counseling service available to Rutgers students when CAPS is closed. Call the main CAPS number, 848-932-7884, and follow the prompts.
    • Let’s Talk: informal, one-session consultations, 848-932-7884.
    • The Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology offers clinical services to Rutgers students: https://gsapp.rutgers.edu/centers-clinical-services/CPS/about-us.
    • Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA): For victims of crimes, including sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. Free and confidential resources are available by phone 24/7. vpva.rutgers.edu, 848-932-1181.
    • Offices of the Dean of Students: If you are in need of assistance or support regarding personal or academic-related challenges, contact 848-932-2300, visit deanofstudents.rutgers.edu, or email deanofstudents@echo.rutgers.edu.
    • Do Something: If you are not sure what to do about a friend, and they are not in immediate danger, share your concern at dosomething.rutgers.edu. The appropriate campus resource will contact them within 2 business days. Please note this should not be used in an emergency as the response is not immediate.