Physics 162
Galaxies & Cosmology

H. E. Smith                                                                                                            Spring 2005
  Physics 162 - Research Paper
                         Due: Thursday, May 26
As described in class, 40% of your grade in Physics 162 will be determined by a Research Paper on a subject related to Galaxies & Cosmology. A brief description of your intended project should be submitted by Thursday, Apr 28. A 1 page description, neatly handwritten is adequate. Please be as specific as possible about approach, references, etc. Following is a list of possible topics that I believe are tractable in terms of material available, proper scope, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive and you need not be constrained by it, but remember the following guidelines:

  1. The topic should be restricted so that you can treat it in some detail in 10 typed pages. It must have some direct tie in to the subject matter of the course --- Galaxies and Cosmology --- but need not be a subject that we cover in class.

  2. You must go deeper into any subject than class lectures. (It is advisable here to check carefully into areas in cosmology, which we will cover later in the course.)

  3. Check for yourself that there is adequate reference material available, ranging from semi-popular to scientific journals.

  4. You must use as primary reference material at least one significant paper in one of the astrophysics journals, many of which are available online. These include: Other places to look are Astro-Ph - the LANL Astrophysics Preprint Database and the Astrophysics Data Service Abstract Database which may be searched by Author, Title, Text with links to online papers and scanned versions for the past 20 years. If you have questions please consult with Prof. Smith

Here's an index of recent Scientific American articles online which is one way way to start your search. See also our index of popular Astronomy Publications.

Your papers descriptions will be returned in about a week with comments about approach, appropriateness of subject, and suggested references.

Potential Paper Topics

  • The Evolution of Stellar Populations in Galaxies
  • Chemical Evolution of Galaxies
  • Galaxy Collisions and Mergers
  • Star Formation in Galaxies
  • Black Holes in Galaxy Nuclei
  • Galaxy Formation
  • Production of the Light Elements (D,Li,B,Be) in the Big Bang
  • The Spectrum of the Microwave Background Radiation
  • Microwave Background Fluctuations
  • The Cosmic Background at X-ray, or UV, or Infrared wavelengths.
  • The Star Formation History of the Universe
  • Tests of Cosmological Models - Choose one and discuss in detail
  • Large Scale Structure in the Universe: concentrate either on Local Large Scale Structure or the Development of Structure in CDM Cosmology
  • Gravitational Lenses
  • Gamma-Ray Bursts
    Ph 162 Home      
    Gene Smith

    Last modified: Tues., 29 March 2005