This website will be used to host lecture notes and other material associated with the first 6 weeks of lectures for PHYS2160 being given by Prof. Tinney. The UNSW Moodle website for this course will just re-direct you here.

IMPORTANT NEWS: Due to the fire alarm during the scheduled Mid-term exam on Sep 3, the exam will now be held during the next class - 9am Tuesday Sep 9.

All students will need to plan to come to this class to take the exam.

Lecturers

1. •Weeks 1 to 6 – Prof. Chris Tinney (c.tinney@unsw.edu.au) Old Main Building, Rm 131
   

2. •Weeks 7 to 12 – Prof. John Webb (jkw@phys.unsw.edu.au) Old Main Building, Rm 126
   

PHYS2160 Part 1 - Materials

Other Websites

1. •PHYS2160 at School of Physics : http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/2nd_and_3rd_syllabi/phys2160.htm
   

2. •PHYS2160 at School of Physics' new website : https://www.physics.unsw.edu.au/courses/phys2160-astronomy
   

3. •Professor Webb's repository of PHYS2160 material
   

4. •The School of Physics' general website is www.physics.unsw.edu.au, and under the “Current Students” link students you will find information about degrees, courses, and assessment.
   

5. •The University website www.my.unsw.edu.au provides links to the UNSW Handbook, Timetables, Calendars and other student information.
   

Prof Tinney's Websites

1. •PHYS2160 site (this page) and Materials
   

2. •Exoplanetary Science at UNSW page
   

3. •UNSW ResearchGate page
   

4. •School of Physics (New) page
   

5. •Personal page.
   

Course details

1. •Units of Credit - 3UOC
   

2. •Offered : Session 2, 2013
   

3. •Assumed Knowledge: The course assumes familiarity with first year physics, e.g. PHYS1002 or PHYS1221 or PHYS1231 or PHYS1241 or PHYS1022.
   

4. •Lectures
           Tuesday, 9AM, OMB 230
           Wednesday, 3PM, OMB 113
   

5. •Number of weeks - 12 weeks
   

6. •Commencement - starting Tuesday July 29
   

Lecture Capture

1. Only one of the rooms for this course is enabled for lecture capture, so lectures will not be captured for this course.
   

Course Description (from Physics PHYS2160 Handbook Entry)

1. Galaxies, the distance scale, large scale structure of the universe, galaxy
   evolution, the very early universe.
   

Syllabus

1. (Weeks 1-6 are the 2014 Semester 2 teaching plan, Weeks 7-12 from Physics PHYS2160 Handbook Entry)
   

1. •Weeks 1-3 (Tinney) : The Milky Way : basic properties, major components, stars, planets, interstellar medium, rotation
   

2. •Weeks 3-5 (Tinney) : Galaxies: Types, basic properties, our galaxy, spiral galaxies, active galaxies.
   

3. •Weeks 5-6 (Tinney) : The Distance Scale - Primary, secondary, tertiary distance indicators; redshifts; Hubble’s constant and its determination; review of galaxy properties; bulk motions amongst galaxies.
   

1. •Weeks 7-10 (Webb) : Galaxies at High Redshift and Evolution - The present-day picture; look back techniques; galaxy number counts, cluster and field galaxy evolution; redshift surveys; gravitational lensing.
   

2. •Weeks 10-12 (Webb) : Cosmology and the Early Universe - Cosmology: Models and observation; Big Bang model; Inflation and GUTs; initial perturbation spectra; galaxy formation; cosmic microwave background; QSOs; dark matter models; cold dark matter scenario.
   

Detailed Outline for Weeks 1-6

1. 
   

2. 1 - Our Galaxy - Fundamentals
   

3. •Magnitudes, Distances, Absolute Magnitudes/Luminosities
   

4. •Orientation – Outline of our Galaxy.
   

5. •How the nature of the Galaxy was historically determined
   

6. •Disk, Halo, GCs. Where the Sun sits.
   

7. 
   

8. 2  - The Milky Way (1)
   

9. •Co-ordinate Systems, Velocities
   

10. •The disk (1)
    

11. •The Bulge/Spheroid and the Halo
    

12. •The disk (2)
    

13. •Differential rotation and Oort’s constants
    

14. 
    

15. 3 – The Milky Way (2)
    

16. •Background material on stars
    

17. •Stellar Populations in our Galaxy
    

18. •Old v Young. Metal Poor v Metal Rich
    

19. 
    

20. Tutorial problems distributed
    

21. 
    

22. 4 - The Milky Way (3)
    

23. •Interstellar medium and gas. Extinction
    

24. •Optical depth, Stromgren spheres
    

25. •Making stars and planets
    

26. 
    
    

27. 5 – The Milky Way (4)
    

28. •Radio astronomy - Synchrotron radiation, Thermal bremsstrahlung
    

29. •Radio astronomy - Gas – 21cm HI spin-flip transition
    

30. •Radio astronomy - Gas – CO as a molecular gas tracer, spiral arms
    

31. •Rotation curve of our Galaxy from Gas
    

32. •Dark Matter in the Halo
    

33. •How did the Galaxy form?
    

34. 
    

35. 6 - Galaxy Types - Spiral Galaxies & Elliptical Galaxies
    

36. •Hubble's galaxy classification
    

37. •Galaxy types
    

38. •Spiral Galaxies - Density waves and star formation
    

39. •Rotation curves in spiral galaxies => dark matter
    

40. 
    

41. Assignment 1 distributed
    

42. 
    

43. 7 - Dark Matter
    

44. •Interpreting Spiral Galaxy Rotation Curves
    

45. •Other evidence for dark matter
    

46. •Dark matter candidates
    

47. •Searches for dark matter
    

48. •Some time for tutorial issues.
    

49. 
    

50. 8 – Active Galaxies (AGN)
    

51. •Elliptical Galaxies, cD Galaxies
    

52. •Discovery of Radio Galaxies and quasars
    

53. •Seyferts, quasars, BL Lacs, radio galaxies
    

54. •AGN spectral shape & radiation mechansims
    

55. •Optical spectra - Broad and narrow emission line regions
    

56. •AGN Unified model
    

57. 
    

58. 9 – Quasars as probes of the Universe
    

59. •Quasars – Number density
    

60. •Optical spectrum: Emission properties,
                Absorption systems (Damped Lyman alpha systems,
                Lyman alpha forest, Gunn-Peterson effect)
    

61. •Some time for tutorial issues.
    

62. 
    

63. 10 – The Distance Scale (I)
    

64. •Discovery of the Universe’s expansion
    

65. •Hubble's constant and age of universe
    

66. •Standard candles
    

67. •Distance Ladder : Parallaxes ➔ Cepheids ➔ Tully Fisher
    

68. 
    

69. 
    

70. 11 - The Distance Scale (II)
    

71. •Distance Ladder: Cepheids ➔ Dn-sigma & surface-brightness fluctuations for elliptical galaxies.
    

72. •Distance Ladder: ➔ Supernovae
    

73. •Dark Energy
    

74. 
    

75. 12 – In-class Exam
    

Assessment

1. •Two assignments  (one in weeks 1-6, one in weeks 7-12) worth 20% of final mark
   

2. •In-session exam (during Thursday lecture of Week 6) worth 20% of final mark
   

3. •Final Exam worth 60% of final mark (with roughly 1/3rd of this exam covering weeks 1-6 and 2/3rds covering weeks 7-12)
   

Material

1. •Copies of all lecture notes will be made available.  The course is not designed around a specific textbook.  However, the following books are useful references:
   
   M. Zeilik & S. Gregory, Introductory Astronomy & Astrophysics, (Saunders)
   F. Shu, The Physical Universe – an introduction to astronomy, (University Science Books)
   

1. •The following are all good introductory texts on astronomy, with excellent illustrations, but the material may be covered at a lower level than this course:
   
   W. Kaufmann, R. Freedman, Universe, (Freeman)
   M. Zeilik, The Evolving Universe, (Wiley)
   D. Maoz, Astrophysics in a Nutshell (Princeton)
   M. Seeds, Foundations of Astronomy, (Wadsworth)
   G. Abell, D. Morrison & S. Wolff, Exploration of the Universe, (Saunders)
   

1. •Tutorial problems will be distributed in Week 3, and time made available in lectures in Weeks 4-5 to address issues
   

1. •Those students having difficulties should consult the lecturer for help. Further information on student support services may be found on the School website here.
   

Societies

1. •All Physics students are members of Physoc (the Physics Student Society) The Physoc room is Room 35 Lower Ground Floor, Old Main Building and all students are welcome to drop in anytime. A number of social events are organised each session. Further information is available at http://ugrad.phys.unsw.edu.au/physoc/2014/ or email unsw.physoc@gmail.com
   

1. •The Australian Institute of Physics www.aip.org.au is the professional association of physicists in Australia.
   

Course Evaluation and Development

1. •Student feedback is gathered periodically by various means. Such feedback is considered carefully with a view to acting on it constructively wherever possible.  This course outline conveys how feedback has helped to shape and develop this course.
   

2. •CATEI: We welcome feedback at all times on presentation of course materials and any other course-related matters, and will be happy to discuss any issues raised in the lectures. You will be asked to provide evaluative feedback through UNSW's Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI) process at the end of the course.
   

3. •The Physics degrees offered by UNSW are reviewed and accredited by the Australian Institute of Physics every five years. This last occurred in 2008.
   

Administrative Matters

1. •Expectations of Students - Students should check their UNSW email account regularly as all official university communication will be sent to that address.
   

2. •Assignment Submissions - Unless otherwise specified, assignments should be submitted to your lecturer, or to the School of Physics office (Room 62, Old Main Building) by 5pm on the due date. Marks will be deducted for late assignments. A downloadable assignment cover sheet is available from https://www.physics.unsw.edu.au/current-students/cover-sheet
   

3. •Occupational Health and Safety - Information on relevant UNSW Occupational Health and Safety policies and expectations is available at: http://www.ohs.unsw.edu.au/index.html and http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/safety/index.html
   

4. •Assessment Procedures / UNSW Assessment Policy - On some occasions, sickness, misadventure, or other circumstances beyond your control may prevent you from completing a course requirement or attending or submitting assessable work for a course. You should then apply for Special Consideration online.
   

5. ★You must make formal application for Special Consideration for the course/s affected as soon as practicable after the problem occurs and within three working days of the assessment to which it refers.
   

6. ★The application must be made via Online Services in myUNSW. Log into myUNSW and go to My Student Profile tab > My Student Services channel > Online Services > Special Consideration.
   

7. ★Submit originals or certified copies of your supporting documentation to UNSW Student Central for verification.
   

8. ★Further information about Special Consideration is available from https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/SpecialConsideration.html
   
   If you are applying for an extension to an assignment, you should also contact your lecturer or Sue Hagon directly.
   
   All requests for special consideration must be accompanied by verified supporting documentation. You should note that submitting a request for Consideration does not automatically mean that you will be granted additional assessment, nor that you will be awarded an amended result. You will be notified of the outcome of your application.
   

1. •Equity and Diversity - Those students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs, with an Equity Officer (Disability) in the Student Equity and Diversity Unit (9385 4734 or http://www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au/ ).
   
   Issues to be discussed may include access to materials, signers or note-takers, the provision of services and additional exam and assessment arrangements.  Students should meet with SEADU before the start of classes in order to enable any necessary adjustments to be made. 
   

1. •Student Complaint Procedure
   

2. ‣School Contact - Prof Gary Morriss, Undergraduate Director, School of Physics, Room 59D, g.morriss@unsw.edu.au, Tel: 9385 5240
   or
   Sue Hagon, Higher Year Coordinator, School of Physics, Room 62B, OMB, s.hagon@unsw.edu.au, Tel: 9385 6293
   

3. ‣Faculty Contact - Dr Chris Tisdell, Associate Dean (Education),
   cct@unsw.edu.au,
   or
   Dr Gavin Edwards, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs), g.edwards@unsw.edu.au,
   

4. ‣University Contact - Student Conduct and Appeals Officer (SCAO) within the Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students) and Registrar. Telephone 02 9385 8515, email studentcomplaints@unsw.edu.au
   University Counselling and Psychological Services Tel: 9385 5418
   

UNSW Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own.

Examples include:

•direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying material, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment without appropriate acknowledgement;

•paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original;

•piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole;

•presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor; and

•claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually contributed.†

For the purposes of this policy, submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may be considered plagiarism.

Knowingly permitting your work to be copied by another student may also be considered to be plagiarism.

Note that an assessment item produced in oral, not written, form, or involving live presentation, may similarly contain plagiarised material.

The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic discipline does not amount to plagiarism.

The Learning Centre website is main repository for resources for staff and students on plagiarism and academic honesty.  These resources can be located via: www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism

The Learning Centre also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example, in:

•correct referencing practices;

•paraphrasing, summarising, essay writing, and time management;

•appropriate use of, and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and concepts.

Individual assistance is available on request from The Learning Centre.

Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management.  Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items.

* Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre.  Used with kind permission from the University of Newcastle

† Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne