Astr 328 Final Exam Study Questions
The
final exam is Friday, December 10th,
12:30-3:30.
It will consist of five questions
taken from this list.
Remember, I want well-written,
well-argued answers.
Definitions
- "OmegaM" = Omega_matter
- "OmegaL" = Omega_lambda
- "Omega" = Omega_matter + Omega_lambda
- "OmegaB" = Omega_baryon
- "several" = "three or more"
- Describe the Tully-Fisher relationship (including
its
physical implications). Discuss the data you need to measure H0 with
Tully-Fisher, and explain how the cluster incompleteness bias can
influence your answer.
- Why does the detection of even one cluster with
mass 1015
Msun at z=1 constrain OmegaM?
- Explain how the Sunyayev-Zeldovich effect is
used
to measure
the Hubble constant, and discuss possible systematic errors.
- Describe Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN).
Observationally, how can we constrain OmegaB from BBN arguments?
- Explain the test behind the supernova cosmology
project,
and the recent results from this project. What systematic errors could
influence their results?
- Describe the physics behind the microwave
background, and explain how the CMB constrains models for structure
formation in the universe.
- Why is "standard CDM" cosmology (i.e., Omega=1,
Lambda=0)
dead?
Give me several well described arguments.
- How and why does structure form differently under
hot dark
matter and cold dark matter models?
- Observations suggest that OmegaM ~ 0.3. Why
couldn't the dark matter be all baryonic? Give
several reasons why.
- Explain the Lyman break technique and how we
use it
to identify
high redshift galaxies. Describe the properties of Lyman Break Galaxies.
- Describe qualitatively how structure grows with
time in the
following sets of universes:
- OmegaL = 0, OmegaM increasing from
0.1 - 1.0
- OmegaM = 0.3, OmegaL increasing from
0.0 - 0.7
Make sure you explain
why
structure
evolves
differently in these different universes. Based on these arguments
(only), and
the observed structure in the universe what value or ranges of values
are
acceptable for OmegaL and OmegaM?
- Describe how we can use peculiar velocities to
measure the
matter content of the Universe? How do we derive those peculiar
velocities?
In this context, what is the Great Attractor?
- Describe the five foundations of modern cosmology.
- Why do we currently believe that the
cosmological
constant
is real? Give several lines of evidence.
- Describe how white dwarfs can be used to
constrain cosmological parameters (ie OmegaM, OmegaL, H0).
- Describe several reasons why high
redshift galaxies might look different from galaxies in the nearby
universe.
- Describe what Damped Lyman Alpha systems are and
how they can help us constrain the star forming history of the Universe.
- Describe several lines of evidence suggesting
that "normal" galaxies (spirals and ellipticals) were largely formed
and in place by z=1.