Teaching

Radio Astronomy

This Course will cover the Fundamental of radio observations, radio antennas and receivers, antenna arrays, Response of an interferometer, cross-correlations, visibility function, calibration techniques, imaging, aperture synthesis, deconvolution, CLEAN algorithm, practical implementation on VLBI, VLA.

Radio Astronomy Course Content (click to expand)

1. Cosmic radio sources. Radio emission within the solar system and Milky Way. Extragalactic radio sources. Physical mechanisms generating radio waves, radio waves Propagation.

2. Antennas and Receivers. Practical aspects of Antenna and Field-of-view, resolution, single dish observations, spectroscopy, antenna power patterns, antenna arrays, Radio Frequency Interference, front and back-ends currently in use

3. Single processing. Fourier analysis, Statistical properties of signal, Probability Density. Expectation Values, Auto- correlation and power spectrum, Filters, digitization and sampling.

4. Interferometers. Cross correlation, coherence, convolution, delay and phase compensation, Relationship between intensity and visibility, effect of bandwidth.

5. Calibration. Basic formalism and methods, use of calibration sources, calibration of amplitude and phase, antenna pointing and gain.

6. Imaging. Aperture synthesis, Deconvolution and cleaning the data, CLEAN algorithm, practical implementation on VLBI, VLA and GMRT

Reference Books

Tools of Radio Astronomy. T. L. Wilson, K. Rohlfs, S. Huttemeister
Essential Radio Astronomy. J. Condon, S. Ransom.

(https://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/courses/era)

Radio astronomy. J.D. Kraus

Key Concepts in Astrobiology & Space Biology

This course delves into the exciting field of astrobiology and space biology. We will examine the beginning, diversity, and resilience of life on Earth, understanding the fundamental conditions necessary for its existence. Next, we explore the challenges and possibilities of Earth life surviving in the harsh conditions of space, providing a basis for considering extraterrestrial life. The core of the course focuses on identifying potential biosignatures—chemical or physical

Astrobiology Course Content (click to expand)

Life on Earth [4 lectures]: the formation of organic molecules in primordial conditions, the role of hydrothermal vents; the significance of RNA in the hypothesis of the first self-replicating systems; the emergence of cellular life; the development of metabolic pathways; and the rise of oxygenic photosynthesis.
Earth Life in Space Environments [5 lectures]: microbial adaptations to space physical extremes, such as temperature, radiation, pressure, gravity, and geochemical extremes (e.g., desiccation, salinity, pH, depletion of oxygen or extreme redox potential).; simulating the lunar and martial environment on Earth.
Biosignatures of Life in Space [5 lectures]: definition of life; seeking for life as we know it; seeking for life as we don’t know it; potential biosignatures of life in space; molecular, isotopic, and morphological biosignatures, such as specific organic molecules, isotopic ratios, and microfossil structures; understanding the limitations of current detection methods and discussing the implications of potential discoveries for our understanding of life in the universe; identifying potential biosignatures in spectral data
Space Instrumentation for Life Studies [5 lectures]: approaches to in-situ life detection and monitoring life in space; mission science to flight hardware; planetary protection and contamination control; sample handling and fluidics; thermal environment and regulation; radiation resistance; virtual prototyping; platform for instrument validation (lab, ballon, rocket, cubesat, ISS, AUVs. etc).
Astrobiology and Space Biology in the context of Indian space missions [2 lectures]. Gaganyaan and human spaceflight. Chandrayaan-4, Chandrayaan-5, Bharatiya Antariksha station, Venus and Mars missions (detection of biosignatures).

Reference Books:

Astrobiology: An Introduction; Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross; ‎ISBN: 978-1421441290

Life Everywhere: The New Science of Astrobiology; David Darling; ISBN: ‎ 978-0465015641

Planetary Astrobiology; Victoria Meadows; ‎ ISBN: 978-0816540068

Fundamentals of Space Biology: Research on Cells, Animals, and Plants in Space; Gilles Clément, Klaus Slenzka; ISBN: 978-0387331133

High Energy Astrophysics

Review of stellar evolution and Compact stars, brief overview of Gas dynamics, plasma Physics and shock waves, binary stars, mass transfer through Roche lobe overflow and stellar wind, formation and structure 2 of accretion disks, steady α-disks, emitted spectrum, different X-ray states in compact star binaries, outbursts in X-ray binaries, detection of X-rays and gamma rays, space X-ray detectors, observations and study of X-ray binaries

High Energy Astrophysics Course Content (click to expand)

Introduction to Astronomy and High-Energy Processes
Introduction to High Energy Astrophysical processes and those associated with binary systems
Stellar evolution, the formation of compact objects and of interacting binary systems
Compact stars: Black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs
Mass transfer in binary stars
Formation of accretion disk and Astrophysical Jets
X-ray binaries, Cataclysmic Variables and other interacting binary stars
Observational studies of these binary systems
Binary systems with two compact objects as sources of gravitational waves
The gravitational wave spectrum and detection of gravitational waves

Reference Books:

Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, Carroll & Ostlie
High Energy Astrophysics, M. S. Longair.
Accretion Power in Astrophysics, J. Frank, A. King and D. Raine.

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