NWI-NM018B
Black Holes and Accretion
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleNWI-NM018B
Credits (ECTS)6
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Science; Wiskunde, Natuur- en Sterrenkunde;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
prof. dr. P.G. Jonker
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
prof. dr. P.G. Jonker
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
prof. dr. P.G. Jonker
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
prof. dr. P.G. Jonker
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. M.A. Moscibrodzka
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2021
Period
KW1-KW2  (06/09/2021 to 30/01/2022)
Starting block
KW1
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
  • The student masters methods from high-energy astrophysics and is able to apply these to stellar and supermassive black holes
  • The student is able to model these processes numerically in a simplified setting
  • The student understands the physics of accretion disks around black holes
  • The student understands the physics of jets and how we can estimate physical conditions around the black hole from them
  • The student is able to present scientific results and write reports.
Content
Accretion is the Universe's powerhouse: over the lifetime of the Universe most electromagnetic radiation has been produced by the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. These so-called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) host a range of physics phenomena that are not only important for understanding the physics in the direct environment of these black holes, but also, e.g. through the generation of supersonic jets, on the structure and evolution of the galaxies surrounding these active nuclei.  After a general introduction to accretion and the evidence for the existence of various types of black holes, we discuss relativistic jets, synchrotron radiation, shock acceleration, black hole basics, standard accretion discs, advection-dominated accretion flows and tidal disruption events. We will often compare the supermassive black hole accretion and jet phenomena with their small scale analogs found in our milky way, stellar-mass black holes accreting gas from stars.

Instructional Modes
Lectures, Tutorials, Student presentation of a research paper
Level
Master course
Presumed foreknowledge
Bachelor in Physics and Astronomy
Test information
Grading will be based on presentation, assignments and an exam which each have the same weight (1/3)
Specifics
This course will be given yearly.
Instructional modes
Course occurrence

Lecture

Practical computer training

Tutorial

Tests
Presentation
Test weight1
Test typePresentation
OpportunitiesBlock KW2

Assignments
Test weight1
Test typeAssignment
OpportunitiesBlock KW2

Exam
Test weight1
Test typeExam
OpportunitiesBlock KW2, Block KW3