Specific Competition
CE1 - Understand the basic conceptual schemes of Astrophysics
CE2 - Understand the structure and evolution of stars
CE9 - Understand the instrumentation used to observe the Universe in the different frequency ranges
General Competencies
CG2 - Understand the technologies associated with observation in Astrophysics and instrumentation design
CG4 - Evaluate the orders of magnitude and develop a clear perception of physically different situations that show analogies allowing the use, to new problems, of synergies and known solutions
Basic skills
CB6 - Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context
CB7 - That students know how to apply the knowledge acquired and their ability to solve problems in new or little-known environments within broader contexts
CB8 - That students are able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of formulating judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments
CB10 - That students possess the learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous
Exclusive to the Specialty in Observation and Instrumentation
CX11 - Understand the techniques used by radio astronomy
6. Subject contents
Theoretical and practical contents of the subject
Introduction and basic concepts (6 hours)
Historical perspective. Main discoveries.
The atmospheric window of radio waves. Main astrophysical processes of radio emission.
Basic definitions. Specific intensity. Flux density. Total intensity. Total flow. Spectral luminosity. bolometric luminosity.
Black body emission. Planck's Law. RJ approach. Brightness temperature.
Radiative transport equation.
Atmospheric absorption and emission.
Radio telescopes and radiometers (8 hours)
General design of a radio telescope. Mount, optics, front-end, back-end.
Reception diagram. Main lobe, lateral lobes. Angular resolution. Antenna solid angle, main lobe, and beam efficiency.
Reciprocity theorem.
Gain and directivity. Effective opening and opening efficiency.
Antenna temperature and system temperature. Flow measured by the antenna. Antenna sensitivity.
Dissipated noise in a radiometer. White noise and 1/f noise. Gain fluctuations. Nyquist's theorem. noise temperature.
Equation of the ideal radiometer. Real radiometer equation. Sensitivity and signal to noise.
Broadcasting processes in the radio-continuum (8 hours)
Blackbody thermal emission. Equilibrium temperature. Astrophysical applications: radio emission of the calm Sun, planets, Moon.
Pseudothermal emission from interstellar dust.
Free-free issue. Emission produced by an accelerated charge (Larmor equation). Optically thin and optically thick regime. Astrophysical applications: H II regions.
Synchrotron emission. Total power emitted. Spectrum. Astrophysical applications: supernova remnants.
Cosmic Microwave Background. Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in galaxy clusters.
Other general astrophysics applications. Streaming from our galaxy. Global galaxy emission. Population from extragalactic sources.
Spectral lines (8 hours)
Radiative transport in lines. Einstein coefficients. Excitation temperature.
Atomic lines. 21cm line of the H I. Recombination lines in radius. Astrophysical applications: rotation curves, interactions, reionization tomography, line intensity mapping , determination of relative abundances.
Molecular lines. Issuance processes. CO and isotopes line. H2, H2O and other molecular lines. Astrophysical applications: study of molecular clouds, mapping of the Milky Way with H2 and CO.
