The course will overview the properties of substellar objects, including brown dwarfs and giant planets, and will expose the students to the latest developments in substellar and exoplanetary astrophysics. The course will also provide opportunities to identify and explore topical questions that emerge from the lectures and the readings. These questions will serve as the basis for oral presentations to be given at the end of the semester. After this course students should be able to analyze and discuss some of the fundamental questions in modern substellar astrophysics, evaluate scientific findings on the subject, and identify projects of interest for future research.
There will be approximately bi-weekly problem sets, a midterm exam, and a final oral presentation. The problem sets and the midterm exam will include both numerical problems and analytical sections, with short-paragraph answers to questions. The final presentations will be on specific subjects of interest and will be based on research of the scientific literature. The presentations will be 30 min each and will be prepared and presented individually. In addition to presenting, students will also be asked to write short peer evaluations of other students' oral presentations. The peer evaluations will not affect the presenters' grades, but will rather serve to assess the listener's ability to critically examine the presented material.
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
| April 24 | Josh Schlieder | Brown dwarf disks and planetary systems |
| April 27 | Aaron Jasckson | Non-equilibrium chemistry in substellar atmospheres |
| April 29 | Rachel Mak | Magnetic activity and rotation in low-mass stars and brown dwarfs |
| May 1 | Dan Stack | Y dwarfs: empirical and theoretical expectations |
| May 4 | Tiffany Kataria | Extremely high contrast imaging of exoplanets |
| May 6 | Brendan Krueger | Nemesis: Sun's hypothetical binary companion |
| May 8 | Dharmesh Jain | Searching for exo-earths through gravitational microlensing |
The policy on collaboration on problem sets is that you may discuss the problems with others, but each person is responsible for writing up his/her own solutions.
Stony Brook policies:
If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services (631) 632-6748 or http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/dss. They will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.
Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support Services. For procedures and information go to the following website http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/fire/disabilities.shtml.
Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instance of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary.
Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, and/or inhibits students' ability to learn.
| Week 1 | Jan 26-30 | Introduction; discovery of substellar objects |
| Week 2 | Feb 2-6 | Overview of astronomical concepts |
| Week 3 | Feb 9-13 | Observational properties of (sub)stellar objects |
| Week 4 | Feb 16-20 | Fundamental (sub)stellar parameters |
| Week 5 | Feb 23-27 | Substellar interiors: overview and evolution |
| Week 6 | Mar 2-6 | Substellar interiors: Li and D fusion; giant planets |
| Week 7 | Mar 9-13 | Substellar atmospheres: chemistry and dust |
| Week 8 | Mar 16-20 | Substellar atmospheres: clouds; planets |
| Week 9 | Mar 23-27 | Irradiated exoplanets |
| Week 10 | Mar 30-Apr 3 | Midterm exam on Apr 1; Planet search techniques |
| Week 11 | Apr 6-10 | Spring Recess |
| Week 12 | Apr 13-17 | Brown dwarf and planet populations; brown dwarf formation |
| Week 13 | Apr 20-24 | Planet formation; Oral presentations + discussion |
| Week 14 | Apr 27-May 1 | Oral presentations + discussion |
| Week 15 | May 4-8 | Oral presentations + discussion |