NTMF090 – Astrophysics of Gravitational Wave Sources
LS 2021/2022
Previous years: LS 2019/2020 LS 2018/2019
The goal of this class is to learn how to gain understanding of complex, unsolved problems with the origin and evolution of gravitational wave sources as a working example. The class will include order-of-magnitude exercises and literature reading. Credit will be given for class participation, homeworks, and final exam.
Class syllabus
- Existing and future GW detectors and their sensitivities (LIGO, VIRGO, PTA, LISA)
- Overview of existing detections in contrast to other known astronomical populations of compact objects
- Evolution of single stars to compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes)
- Evolution of binary stars to compact object binaries
- Unconventional binary star evolution, dynamical formation of binaries (captures)
- Physics of the merger
- Electromagnetic and multi-messenger signatures of the merger
- Introduction to the physics of astronomical transients
- Core-collapse supernovae
- The zoo of astronomical transients
- Future sources: stochastic GW from big bang, white dwarf binaries, supermassive blackholes, EMRIs
Lecture 1 (February 15 2022) – presentation slides
- Existing and future GW detectors and their sensitivities (LIGO, VIRGO, PTA, LISA)
- Overview of existing detections in contrast to other known astronomical populations of compact objects
Lectures 2 & 3 (March 22 2022) – presentation slides presentation slides
- GW strain from gravitationally bound binaries
- GW decay timescale of binaries – additional materials
- Virial theorem
- Homework on globular clusters – virial theorem, mass segregation, evaporation, mean free path, etc.
- Equations of stellar structure – additional materials
- Polytropic equation of state – additional materials
- Virial theorem – additional materials
- Mass-radius relation of polytropes
- Stability of polytropic star – additional materials
- Mass-luminosity relation (homology) – additional materials
Lectures 4 & 5 (April 5 2022) – presentation slides
- Single non-rotating solar-metallicity non-magnetic star evolution
- Convection – additional materials
Lectures 6 & 7 (April 12 2022) – presentation slides
- Single non-rotating solar-metallicity non-magnetic star evolution
Lectures 8 & 9 (April 19 2022) – presentation slides
- Final stages of stellar evolution – additional materials on Chandrasekhar mass, neutron stars, equations of state
- Homework – discuss paper on neutrino Hertzprung-Russel diagram
Lecture 10 (April 26 2022) – presentation slides
- Final stages of stellar evolution, supernova explosion, pair instability, neutron stars
Lecture 11 (May 3 2022) – presentation slides
- chemically-homogeneous evolution
- Binary evolution: Roche potential, mass transfer, common envelope
- Lidov-Kozai, cluster dynamics
- Interesting papers: Binary Interaction Dominates the Evolution of Massive Stars and The Incidence of Stellar Mergers and Mass Gainers among Massive Stars
Lecture 12 (May 10 2022) – presentation slides
- Electromagnetic and multimessenger signatures of the merger
- Physics of astronomical transients
- r process
Lectures 13 & 15 (May 17 2022)
Final symposium:
Great debate 1: what is the nature of “most superluminous” supernova ASASSN-15lh
Great debate 2: Which stars make neutron stars and which black holes aka the
“red supergiant problem”