Download Possible exam topics for the Astroparticle Physics course

Possible exam topics for the Astroparticle Physics course
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Derive relation between H, t, T for radiation dom. Universe
Derive Friedmann eq. for matter dominated U.
Explain effect pressure term in Friedmann eq.
Explain negative pressure for vacuum energy
Explain Olberts paradox and its solution
Calculate the critical density
Explain which observations determine Ωv, Ωm, ΩB, ΩR, Ωk.
Explain the z-dependence of the different densities
Calculate the age of the universe, know how this depends on the various Ω
Calculate ΩR in the present day CMB
Explain the change in effective degrees of freedom at various stages in the early
universe.
What are the different stages that can be distinguished in the (early) universe.
Calculate the present day neutrino temperature
Describe the process for matter-radiation decoupling, estimate temperature
Explain primordial nucleosynthesis; reproduce important reactions in PNS
Explain why deuterium is a good tracer for the determination of the PNS
abundance and how the D/H ratio is being measured
What determines the neutron/proton ratio, how does this reflect in the He fraction
Explain the why each of the Sacharov criteria is necessary for the BAU
Describe a possible scenario for the BAU
Describe and explain laboratory experiment to prove CP violation in neutral
Kaons
Explain the Casimir effect
Explain vacuum energy problem, Horizon problem, Flatness problem, Monopole
problem
Explain how these problems are solved in inflation
Why slow-roll inflation?
What density fluctuation spectrum is predicted by inflation, derive.
Give 2 different derivations for the Jeans mass (no factors 2 or pi)
Calculate stability of fluctuations before decoupling age (example 8.3)
Explain change of Jeans mass at decoupling age
Explain the first peak (position and height) in the multipole decomposition for the
temperature fluctuations of the CMB.
When did structure formation in the U. start, why?
Explain emission gravitational waves
Explain the working of a gravitational wave detector
Explain formation of stars from gas clouds; virial theorem <P>V = -(1/3)Egrav
Reproduce quiescent burning cycles (H, He, 12C, 16O) Hertzsprung Russell
Explain balance between gravitational pressure and electron pressure in nonrelativistic and relativistic case
Explain Gamow window, influence of charges of nuclei and temperature
What is the fate of a light star (M < 1 M), for a heavy star (M > 10 M)
Methods for detection of cosmic rays
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o direct measurements (balloon, satellites): wire chambers, calorimeters,
magnetic deflection
o indirect measurements (detection of showers, in air, in solids): secondary
particles, electromagnetic and hadronic shower, cherenkov and
fluorescence emission by fast particles in the sky
Explain shower process (secondary particles, electromagnetic (soft) and hadronic
(hard) components of showers
Explain emission of fluorescence light by air shower
Explain emission radio waves of and air shower
(Explain emission radio waves from a neutrino in a dielectric.)
Explain GZK mechanism
Explain Fermi acceleration and power law of flux spectrum
Explain evidence for dark matter based on
o Galaxy rotation curves and clusters of galaxies
o Gravitational lensing
Methods to detect Weakly Interaction Massive Particles in laboratories
o explain detection principle (interacting of WIMP with nucleus, observe
recoiling nucleus through increased heat in cryogenic detector or
scintillation detection)
o explain possible annual variation of WIMP detection (velocities of Earth
and Sun)
Explain neutrino oscillation, propagation mass eigenstates, creation/detection
flavor eigenstates.