ISYA-2025 Syllabus

Description: This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the solar system, covering its formation, structure, and key components, including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. It explores planets' physical and chemical properties and atmospheres, highlighting differences between terrestrial and giant planets. The course also examines smaller celestial bodies, planetary rings, and the potential habitability of moons. Finally, it discusses past, present, and future space missions, addressing the search for life and the future of solar system exploration.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Structure of the Solar System

• Overview of the solar system: Key components (Sun, planets, moons, asteroids,comets, Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud)
• Planetary Properties: orbit, mass, size, temperature, surface, magnetic field,interior structure
• Formation of the solar system: Nebular hypothesis and planetary accretion
• Solar heating and energy transport

Lecture 2: Planets Atmosphere, Surface, and Interior Structure

• Terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – similarities and differences
• Gas giants: Jupiter and Saturn – composition, atmospheric structure, and weather systems
• Ice giants: Uranus and Neptune – unique features and internal structures
• Planetary atmospheres: Greenhouse effect, atmospheric escape, and climate evolution

Lecture 3: Moons, Rings, and Small Bodies

• Major moons: The Galilean moons, Titan, Enceladus, Triton – geological activity and potential habitability
• Ring systems: Saturn’s rings and lesser-known rings of other giant planets
• Asteroids and the asteroid belt: Composition, classification, and impact history
• Comets and the Kuiper Belt: Structure of comets, origins, and long-period vs. short-period comets
• The Oort Cloud: Hypothetical outer solar system boundary and its role in long- period comets

Lecture 4: Habitability and Exploration of the Solar System

• The concept of the habitable zone: Conditions for liquid water and life
• Earth-like worlds: Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and Titan as potential habitats
• Space missions: Past, present, and future planetary exploration (e.g., Voyager, Cassini, Juno, Perseverance, Europa Clipper)
• The search for extraterrestrial life: Astrobiology and biosignatures
• The future of solar system exploration: Human missions to Mars, mining asteroids, and outer planet exploration

Textbook:
1. Rothery, David A. / McBride, Neil / Gilmour, Iain / Anand, Mahesh/ Bland, Philip A.,An Introduction to the Solar System
2. Roger Freedman , Robert Geller, William Kaufmann, Universe: The Solar System
3. Imke de Pater, Jack J. Lissauer, Planetary Science

Description: A review of extrasolar planets discovered over the past 30 years. Recent advances in the theoretical understanding of the diversity of exoplanetary systems and the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Exoplanet Overview

• 30 Years of Exoplanet Discovery
• Detection Methods of Exoplanets I: Radial Velocity and Transit Photometry
• Detection Methods of Exoplanets II: Microlensing and Direct Imaging

Lecture 2: The Diversity of Exoplanets

• Super-Earths and Hot Neptunes (SENs)
• Short-Period Gas Giants and Wide-Orbit Gas Planets
• Planetary Systems around Massive Stars
• Planetary Systems around Evolved Stars

Lecture 3: The Origin of Exoplanetary Systems

• Planet Formation Theory
• Orbital Evolution of Planets

Lecture 4: Characterization of Exoplanets

• (Exo)planetary Atmospheres
• Transmission Spectroscopy in Planetary Atmospheres
• Planetary Habitability
• Future Projects toward the Search for Biosignatures and Life

Description: An overview of the basic properties of galaxies due to the distribution, kinematics, dynamics, relevance, and evolution of their different stellar populations. A view of the basic properties and processes in the distant universe as revealed by galaxies of all types discovered so far.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: The Milky Way as a galaxy

• The structure of the Galaxy
• The galactic disk
• The galactic bulge
• The galactic halo
• The galactic center
• Velocity of the sun
• Rotation curve of the Galaxy
• Stellar populations in the Galaxy

Lecture 2: The world of galaxies (1)

• Morphological classi fication. The Hubble Sequence
• Other types of galaxies
• Elliptical galaxies
• Spiral galaxies
• Galaxies in the local group
• Scaling relations

Lecture 3: The world of galaxies (2)

• The extragalactic distance scale
• The luminosity function of galaxies
• Black holes in the centers of galaxies
• Galaxies as gravitational lenses
• Stellar population synthesis
• Spectral evolution of galaxies
• Chemical evolution of galaxies

Lecture 4: Clusters and groups of galaxies

• The local group
• Galaxies in clusters and groups
• Morphological classi fication of clusters
• Spatial distribution of galaxies in clusters
• Luminosity function of cluster galaxies
• Clusters of galaxies as gravitational lenses
• Evolution of clusters

Lecture 5: Galaxies at high redshift

• Lyman-break galaxies
• Starburst galaxies
• Extremely red objects
• Sub-millimeter sources
• Damped Lyman-alpha systems
• Lyman-alpha blobs
• Gamma-ray bursts
  Bibliography:
• Schneider, Extragalactic astronomy and cosmology
• Sparke & Gallager, Galaxies in the Universe
• Mo, van den Bosch & White, Galaxy formation and evolution (selected chapters)

Description: We will start with an overview of the main observational features of the Universe: matter content, geometry, expansion rate, dark energy, and dark matter. We will then introduce General Relativity and the standard model to describe the Universe geometry. An overview of inflation and how it can explain some of the main cosmological puzzles. As a concrete example, we will study the physics of the CMBR and how one can extract information that can be used to understand the very early Universe as well as the late epochs. The course finishes with an overview of how nonlinear structure formation, in particular galaxy clusters, can be used to unveil the nature of dark energy and gravity.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Observational Cosmology

• The main observational features of the Universe: matter content, geometry, expansion rate, dark energy, and dark matter.

Lecture 2: General Relativity and Inflation

• General Relativity and the FRW model of the Universe. An introduction to Inflation, the main cosmological puzzles, and how Inflation could explain them.

Lecture 3: Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

• Formation of the CMB photons, its main properties, and how one can use the CMB features to probe the main large-scale properties of the Universe.

Lecture 4: Galaxy Clusters as a probe of Gravity beyond General Relativity

• Main features of Modified Gravity models, and how one can use galaxy cluster properties to test and search for signatures of those models.

Description: The lectures will give an overview of the start formation process and the interstellar cycle.
Starting from a fundamental description of hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical processes, a broad description of the interstellar medium will be given. The gravitational collapse going from Jeans instability to the formation of stellar cluster will be given. The most fundamental questions regarding stellar formation, namely the origin of the initial mass function and the star formation rate will be discussed. Finally, the formation and evolution of protoplanetary disks will be described.
Syllabus:
Lecture 0: hydrodynamics and magneto-hydrodynamics

• Hydrodynamical equations
  - energy conservation and the second principle of thermodynamic
  - cooling and heating
  - conservative form
  - shocks
  - turbulence
• MHD equations
  - ideal MHD: Maxwell-Faraday and flux freezing
  - comments on the Lorenz force
  - conservative form
  - transport of angular momentum
  - non-ideal MHD

Lecture 1: the interstellar medium

• What do we find in a galaxy?
• atoms, molecules and dust
• Energy equipartition in the ISM
• The phase of the interstellar medium
• Turbulence in the interstellar medium
• Magnetic field
• Cosmic Rays

Lecture 2: gravitationnal collapse

• Three simple facts about gravity
• Jeans mass and length
• Equilibrium solutions and stability
• Collapse
  - Freefall, self-similar solutions and numérical simulations
  - The second collapse
• The impact of magnetic field and rotation
• Cluster formation

Lecture 3: the initial mass function and the star formation rate

• The star formation rate
  - principle of analytical models
  - feedback –success: MW SFR rate, failure: SK relation
  - effect of large scale turbulent driving on Schmidt-Kennicutt relation
• The stellar initial mass function
  - how to explain the slope of the IMF
  - how to explain the peak of the IMF

Lecture 4: protoplanetary disks

• The centrifugal barrier
• Why transporting angular momentum ?
• Disk formation
• The alpha-disk model
• How to transport angular momentum ?
• Turbulence, gravitational instability and magnetic braking

Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Fundamental of Observational Astronomy

• Astronomical Information Carriers
• System of Time
• Spatial Reference Frame
• Basic Radiation and Black-Body

Lecture 2: Optical Astronomy (I)

• Magnitude System
• Earth's Atmosphere and Optical Observations
• Beating Atmosphere on the Ground: Adaptive Optics and Lucky Image

Lecture 3: Optical Astronomy (II)

• Ground-Based Telescopes
• CCD Detectors
• CCD Image Reduction

Lecture 4: Measurements

• Astrometry
• Aperture Photometry and Photometric Calibration
• Statistical Errors and Signal-to-Noise Calculation

Lecture 5: From Spectroscopy to Multi-Wavelength

• Basic Spectroscopy and Optical Spectrograph
• High-Energy Astronomy
• Radio Astronomy

Description: An overview of the physics of supernovae and other astrophysical transients, with an emphasis on their observational properties and roles in modern astronomy. Through a time-domain and multi-messenger lens, we explore how these cosmic explosions shed light on progenitor systems, explosion mechanisms, and their broader applications in astronomy.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Introduction to Astrophysical Transients

• What is time-domain astronomy?
• Classes of astrophysical transients
• Importance of supernovae in transient science
• Overview of observing strategies and surveys

Lecture 2: Types and Observables of Supernovae

• Classification of supernovae (Type Ia, Ib/c, II, superluminous)
• Light curves and their physical interpretation
• Spectral signatures and progenitor diagnostics
• Tools for spectroscopic classification

Lecture 3: Physics and Environments of Supernovae

• Explosion mechanisms of core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae
• Progenitor systems
• Host galaxy environments
• Connection with star formation and stellar populations

Lecture 4: Multi-Messenger Astronomy

• Gravitational waves and their electromagnetic counterparts
• Neutrinos from astrophysical explosions
• Multi-wavelength coordination and follow-up
• Case studies: GW170817 and the kilonova
• The future of multi-messenger, time-domain surveys

Bibliography:

• Supernova Explosions – David Branch & Craig Wheeler, Springer (2017)
• Handbook of Supernovae – Athem W. Alsabti & Paul Murdin (Eds.), Springer (2017)

Description: An introduction to the key components of computational astrophysics, covering hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, self-gravity, and particles.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Hydrodynamics (1)

• Advection equation
• Stability analysis
• Introduction to hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)

Lecture 2: Hydrodynamics (2)

• Shock-capturing scheme
• Constrained transport scheme for MHD
• Adaptive mesh refinement

Lecture 3: Self-gravity

• Relaxation method
• Multigrid method
• Discrete Fourier transform
  Lecture 4: Particles
• Physical meaning of particles in simulations
• Computing self-gravity among particles
• Orbit integration

Description: An overview of basic properties of black holes and their roles in astrophysics, including how black holes are formed, how they accrete, how they produce relativistic jets, and how they influence the formation and evolution of galaxies. Recent breakthroughs, including direct imaging of black holes as well as gravitational waves, will also be discussed.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Introduction to black holes

• What is a black hole
• Properties of black holes
• How black holes are formed
• Discovery of black holes
• Black hole accretion disks
• X-ray binaries

Lecture 2: Active galaxies and supermassive black holes

• Observations of active galactic nuclei
• The Galactic center supermassive black hole
• Spectra of active galactic nuclei
• Comparison between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes
• Origin of supermassive black holes

Lecture 3: Black hole jets and energetic feedback on galaxies

• Properties of black hole jets
• Speeds of black hole jets
• Formation of black hole jets
• Energetic feedback of black holes on galaxy evolution

Lecture 4: Recent breakthroughs in black hole astrophysics

• The first black hole image
• Future directions of black hole imaging
• Introduction to gravitational waves
• Gravitational wave observations
• Future directions of gravitational wave studies

Description: The course explores the life cycle of stars, through stable and dynamic stages to their fate as white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes. Topics include the physics of stellar structure, nuclear fusion, energy transport, and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The course also examines main sequence evolution, late-stage processes such as red giant formation, supernovae, and compact remnants. Modern computational models of stellar evolution will be discussed.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1 Stellar structure

• Basic equations of stellar structure
• Radiative transfer and gas opacity
• Introduction to MESA code

Lecture 2 Main-sequence stars

• Thermonuclear reactions
• Hydrogen burning, p-p chain, CNO cycle
• Pre-main-sequence evolution

Lecture 3 Post-main-sequence evolution

• Helium burning and red giant stars
• Degenerated electron gas
• White dwarf stars

Lecture 4 Supernova, neutron stars, blackholes

• Structure of a neutron star
• Supernova and explosive nucleosynthesis
• A concise account of general relativity
• Blackholes

Description: This course introduces the fundamentals of machine learning (ML) with a focus on its applications in time-domain astronomy. Students will learn core ML concepts and explore real-world examples including real/bogus classification of transients, photometric and spectroscopic classification, and feature extraction techniques. The course emphasizes the use of open-access datasets and tools, empowering students to work with large astronomical data streams in modern survey projects.
Syllabus:
Lecture 1: Introduction to ML Concepts

• What is ML? Supervised, unsupervised and semi-supervised learning
• Key components of ML: features, labels, training/testing sets
• Data preparation and preprocessing: data quality, normalization, augmentation
• Evaluation strategies: metrics, cross-validation, hyperparameter tuning, class imbalance
• Overview of ML applications in time-domain astronomy
• Introduction to open-access survey datasets: ZTF, ATLAS, LSST Simulations
• Setting up Python ML environment: Jupyter Notebooks and key packages for astronomy

Lecture 2: Case study 1 -- Real/Bogus Classification Using Imaging Data

• Introduction to wide-field time-domain surveys
• Principles of image differencing for transient discovery
• Common artifacts in subtracted images
• Extracting features from image stamps
• Real/bogus classification using ML techniques
• Introduction to Kinder-pip: an ML pipeline for real/bogus classification
• Hands-on example using public imaging datasets

Lecture 3: Case study 2 -- Photometric Classification Using Light Curves

• Basics of transient photometry and light curve construction
• Characteristic light curves of different transient types
• Accessing public photometric data from sky surveys
• Using HAFFET for light curve feature extraction
• Introduction to AstroRapid: real-time photometric classifier for transient types
• Practical demonstration with multi-band light curve data

Lecture 4: Case study 3 -- Spectroscopic Classification Using SEDs

• Fundamentals of spectral energy distributions (SEDs)
• Spectral features of common supernova types
• Using HAFFET for spectral feature extraction
• Gelato: Online spectral matching tool
• AstroDash: Deep learning-based spectral classifier
• NGSF: Superfit-based classification system

Software Requirements (for hands-on sessions):

• Jupyter Notebook environment (with Anaconda)
• Python 3.0+
• numpy, scipy, matplotlib, pandas, scikit-learn, astropy
• astroquery, astroml (optional)
• IRAF, hotpants, sextractor (optional)

Bibliography (Freely Available):

• Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms, Shai Ben-David and Shai Shalev-Shwartz
• Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning (Information Science and Statistics), Christopher M. Bishop
• Deep Learning, Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, Aaron Courville
• Python Data Science Handbook, O’Reilly Media, VanderPlas
• Statistics, Data Mining & Machine Learning in Astronomy, Princeton University Press, Ivezić, Connolly, VanderPlas, & Gray
• HAFFET
• Gelato
• AstroRapid
• AstroDash
• NGSF