FY838: Theory and observation of black holes
Study Board of Science
Teaching language: Danish or English depending on the teacher, but English if international students are enrolled
EKA: N510049102
Assessment: Second examiner: Internal
Grading: Pass/Fail
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Spring
Level: Master
STADS ID (UVA): N510049101
ECTS value: 5
Date of Approval: 11-10-2023
Duration: 1 semester
Version: Approved - active
Entry requirements
Academic preconditions
Academic preconditions. Students taking the course are expected to:
•Have knowledge of four-vector notation.
The lecture on General Relativity is not a strict entry requirement, but it is useful to have taken the lecture on General Relativity prior to this course.
Course introduction
The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand and describe black holes.
The course builds on the knowledge acquired in the courses General Relativity.
In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
a. Give knowledge of basic theoretical concepts and experimental methods based on research at the highest international level within the subject area of physics
b. Give knowledge of topics within the physics research cultivated by the employees at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy
c. the ability to understand, and on a scientific basis reflect on, knowledge within the subject area of physics and be able to identify scientific problems
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- Describe non-rotating and rotating black holes.
- Describe and calculate the motion of particles in black-hole spacetimes.
- Understand modern observational techniques to observe black holes, using gravitational-wave interferometers and interferometric telescope arrays.
Content
The following main topics are contained in the course:
- Schwarzschild black holes in Schwarzschild coordinates and in Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates.
- Particle falling into a Schwarzschild black hole.
- Notion of the event horizon.
- Singularities and curvature invariants.
- Penrose diagram of a Schwarzschild black hole.
- Kerr black hole.
- Ergosphere and extraction of energy from a rotating black hole.
- Gravitational waves and observation of black-hole binaries through gravitational waves.
- Shadows of black holes and observations with the Event Horizon Telescope.
Literature
Examination regulations
Exam element a)
Timing
June
Tests
Oral exam
EKA
N510049102
Assessment
Second examiner: Internal
Grading
Pass/Fail
Identification
Full name and SDU username
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Duration
30 minutes
Examination aids
No aids allowed
ECTS value
5
Additional information
Exam is without preparation
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
At the faculty of science, teaching is organized after the three-phase model ie. intro, training and study phase.
- Intro phase: 2 hours
- Training phase: 18 hours, including tutorials.
Activities during the study phase:
- Solution of weekly assignments in order to discuss these in the exercise sections.
- Self study of various parts of the course material.
- Reflection upon the intro and training sections.
Teacher responsible
Additional teachers
Timetable
Administrative Unit
Team at Educational Law & Registration
Offered in
Recommended course of study
Transition rules
Transitional arrangements describe how a course replaces another course when changes are made to the course of study.
If a transitional arrangement has been made for a course, it will be stated in the list.
See transitional arrangements for all courses at the Faculty of Science.