- Docente: Silvia Pellegrini
- Credits: 6
- SSD: FIS/05
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Astrophysics and cosmology (cod. 8018)
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to address some fundamental topics concerning the study of galaxies, and to prepare the student to read and understand important research papers on the following subjects: the dynamical structure of galaxies; a physical understanding of the main galaxy scaling laws, and of important relationships between morphological, structural and dynamical properties of the galaxies; the presence of dark matter; the role of the main properties of the stellar population in investigations of the dynamical structure; the discovery of supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, and their importance in the evolution of the galaxies.
Course contents
The aim of the course is to study some important and current topics
in the astrophysics of galaxies, a few of which have been already
introduced in past courses dealing with galaxies that the students
attended. After this study, the student will be able to read and
understand research papers on the following main subjects:
1) structure of the galaxies and their different components;
2) physical understanding of the scaling laws of the galaxies, and
of some important correlations between their
structural/morphological/dynamical properties;
3) the presence of dark matter: discovery and methods of
measurements;
4) relationship between the stellar and the gaseous component of
galaxies; galactic flows; metal enrichment of the intracluster
medium;
5) the central supermassive black holes: discovery, role in the
galaxy evolution.
Readings/Bibliography
Research papers on various subjects, and two fundamental textbooks
as reference for many topics:
Binney, Tremaine: Galactic Dynamics, Princeton University Press,
1987 (2007, 2nd edition)
Binney, Merrifield: Galactic Astronomy, Princeton University
Press, 1998
Teaching methods
Oral lessons.
Assessment methods
Oral examination.
Teaching tools
Board and videoprojector.
Links to further information
http://www.bo.astro.it/~silvia/astrogals.html
Office hours
See the website of Silvia Pellegrini