Admission requirements
None
Description
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are extremely energetic objects that reside in the centres of galaxies. Often they are so luminous that they outshine their entire hosting galaxy. They can emit light over the entire electromagnetic spectrum enabling us to witness dramatic signatures of a wide variety of activities, ranging from radio jets that can be hundreds of times larger than galaxies to the observed heated accretion ring close to the black hole of our own galaxy. In this lecture series, AGN and their impact will be discussed in considerable detail.
Topics that will be addressed include:
observational results and the resulting taxonomy
the physics of the various AGN building blocks
their origin and time evolution
their role in the formation of galaxies
Course objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will not only have a good understanding of the role AGN are playing in modern astrophysics but also have obtained a good feeling for the open questions in this field. The aim is to provide a solid background to be able to carry out research at the master or PhD level.
Upon completion of this course, you will
be able to interpret observations at virtually the whole electromagnetic spectrum of AGN
have a good apprehension of how the basic physical properties of AGN building blocks are determined
be familiar with the various scenarios for the formation of the first AGN
understand how AGN evolve and ideas on what might be driving this evolution
be acquainted with ideas on how AGN impact the formation of galaxies and methods that numerical simulations have employed to take this into account
Timetable
See Astronomy master schedules
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Pleas note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Assessment method
Written exam: 60%
Four homework assignments: 40%
Reading list
- Lecture notes
Registration
From the academic year 2022-2023 on every student has to register for courses with the new enrollment tool MyStudyMap. There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December. Please see this page for more information.
Please note that it is compulsory to both preregister and confirm your participation for every exam and retake. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam of the course. Confirming your exam participation is possible until ten days before the exam.
Extensive FAQ's on MyStudymap can be found here.
Contact
Lecturer: Prof. H.J.A. Rottgering
Remarks
Soft skills
In this course, you are trained in the following behaviour-oriented skills:
Abstract thinking
Explaining and analyzing complex and non-intuitive concepts