Frontiers of Cosmology and Astrophysics
Prerequisites
The course is designed for doctoral students, but can also be attended by master students. It requires a basic knowledge of Physics and the courses from the Bachelor in Physics are sufficient.
Programme
We will present some of the techniques used nowadays to observe the Universe on different scales and epochs. The thermal history of the Universe will be introduced, together with several investigation methods related to the study of the cosmic microwave background, signature of the "Recombination era" that drives the Universe in the so-called "Dark ages". Topics include also the thermal and ionization history of the intergalactic medium, galaxy formation and evolution, galactic structure and environment, the interstellar medium, black holes growth and evolution, super-massive black holes, and finally gravitational waves emitted from massive black holes. Special attention will be devoted to what can be learned from current and upcoming observational facilities.
Educational aims
The course aims at offering students a broad and diversified perspective of the open problems in the fields of Cosmology and Astrophysics, accompanied by a more general initial introduction. The goal of the course is to stimulate the students to study open questions at the forefront of the research in Cosmology and Astrophysical through the most advanced observational techniques.
Bibliographical references
Binney and Tremaine, "Galactic dynamics", Princeton University Press; H. Netzer: "The physics and evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei", Cambridge University Press H. Mo, F. van de Bosch, and S. White, “Galaxy formation and evolution”, Cambridge University Press Eventuali altri testi saranno comunicati a lezione.