The Dual Nature of Light

Its a particle: photon with E (ergs) Its a wave: Wavelength , Frequency , velocity c

Radio: long , low , vel=c

= c/ cm 1 = 10-8cm E = h = hc/ ergs

X-ray: short , high , vel=c

=c/ E=h=hc/ ergs The wave is the electric and magnetic elds to each other E = Eosin[(2/) (x-ct)] IE2

LIGHT

Electromagnetic Spectrum:
-ray MeV X-ray keV UV visible 500-3000 3900-7000 1=10-8cm IR radio cm-meter

1 keV=12

1=10,000

GRB, SN

XRB, SN remnants

O, B stars Stars Brown dwarfs white dwarfs accretion disks planets

Molecular clouds

Half abs altitude (km)

Wavelength ()

Basic Properties of Light:

inverse square law: [E/4d2 ergs/cm2] reection: angle of incidence to normal= angle of reection [i=r] refraction: light refracts (bends to normal) in material [n1sini = n2sinr] dispersion: light disperses in prism or grating [spectrum] diffraction: light passing through an aperture (telescope): [~/d(radians)=206265/d(arcsec)] x1.22 is resolution for a 10 cm telescope at =5000, = 1 arcsec interference[max at dsin = m] gives location of lines in spectrograph - for a grating with 12000 slits/inch, d=21,000

Basic Properties of Light:

inverse square law: [E/4d2 ergs/cm2]

Basic Properties of Light:

reection:

angle of incidence to normal = angle of reection [i=r]

Basic Properties of Light:

refraction: light refracts (bends to normal) in material [n1sini = n2sinr]

Basic Properties of Light:

diffraction: light passing through an aperture (telescope)

(radians) ~/d 1 radian=57.3 deg x 60 arcmin x 60 arcsec = 206265 arcsec resolution (arcsec) = 206265 (/d) x 1.22 (circular correction) for a 10 cm telescope at =5000(5x10-5cm), ~ 1 arcsec blue vs red telescope size

Basic Properties of Light:

interference[max at dsin = m] gives location of lines in spectrograph - for a grating with 12000 slits/inch, d=21,000

Basic Properties of Light:

dispersion: light disperses in prism or grating [spectrum] n() blue is bent more than red

white light

3 types of spectra: continuous, absorption line and emission line

Important points about Continuum radiation: Planck Function (Black Body) E=2hc2/5[e(hc/kT)-1] ergs/cm2/s/ Stefan-Boltzmann Law E=4 ergs/cm2/s Luminosity L=4R2T4 ergs/s Wiens Law ()=2.9x107/T(K)

Continuum radiation is approximated as a Black Body (black body is opaque and radiates as a function of its T); amount of energy from a BB is given by the Planck function: E=2hc2/5[e(hc/kT)-1] ergs/cm2/s/
Note there is some E at all wavelengths even if its not visible

1000 4000

7000 10,000

E=2hc2/5[e(hc/kT)-1] ergs/cm2/s/ Eall = E () d = T4 ergs/cm2/s Stefan-Boltzmann law

doubling T gives 16 X more energy from a star!

1000 4000

7000 10,000

Stefan-Boltzmann is energy/s for each square cm on star

Luminosity = total energy coming from star each sec = total emitting area (cm2) X T4 (ergs/cm2/s) = 4 R2 T4 ergs/s

E=2hc2/5[e(hc/kT)-1] ergs/cm2/s/ dE/()/d = 0 () = 2.9 x 107/T (K) Wiens law

hot stars look blue, cool stars red, color gives T

1000 4000

7000 10,000

Line emission is approximated by the Bohr model (Quantum physics tells the true story) E H
p e

n=1 n=2 n=3

Each element has diff p, e-, n

He
n

Each element has diff E levels e- sit at lowest E for gas T

E=hc/
photon

absorption line
e- absorbs photon and moves to higher E level (n=2)

emission line
e- emits photon to move down to lower E level (n=1)

Transitions to a given level are a series:

13.6eV

12.73eV 12.07eV 10.19eV

0 eV

UV

optical

IR

Line theory - Bohr model

mvr=nh/2 mv2/r=(Ze)e/r2 E=hc/ r= n2h2/4me2Z 1/=109678 [(1/m2)-(1/n2)]

E(n)=-22me4/h2n2

H (level 3 to 2) 1/=109678 [(1/4)(1/9)] so =6563

Quantum theory: N, L, S, J, M quantum numbers

Level Populations: - gas T determines E which determines level occupied - number of electrons in that level and abundance determines line strength

Boltzman eqtn provides excitation: N2/N1=g2/g1 e[E1-E2/kT] Saha eqtn provides ionization : N+/No=A(kT)3/2/Nee[-/kT]

Lines are broadened by:

uncertainty principle: 1/t 0.05 m Doppler : rotational and thermal pressure: collisions magnetic eld: Zeeman splitting

Suns spectrum

Spectra of stars like the Sun

Normal Star:
continuum + absorption lines
WL

cool atm

Peculiar Star:
emission lines
disk of hot low density gas

Planet:
continua and absorption of sun + planet
sun planet

earth

Typical CV spectra in DR1

CVs in DR1 in Szkody et al. 2003, AJ, 126, 1499

Cyclotron humps

Polar

Strong HeII Polar Strong continuum

Shows WD ZZ Cet Strong lines

Important Info from Spectra: 1. Composition (careful) 2. Temperature 3. Velocity

Doppler Shift
source at rest source moving to right

red shift seen here

blue shift seen here

if v<< c / = v/c
= observed shift, v=object velocity, = lab wavelength, c= 3x105 km/s if =1 for H (4861), v= 62 km/s

Uses of Doppler shift:

1) 2) 3) nd motion of star or galaxy nd rotation of planet or star determine if its a binary (star+star) or (star+planet)

red shift

no shift

no shift

only v component toward or away is measured!

blue shift

Useful info for telescopes: f-ratio = focal length/diameter = f/d [small f-ratio means brighter image] brightness increases as (diameter)2 resolution = 2.1x105/d x 1.22 arcsec magnication = focal length of objective/focal length of eyepiece plate scale s = 0.01745xf cm/deg = 4.85x10-6 f cm/arcsec

Plate scale s: how the linear measure on your detector corresponds to angular measure on the sky

s = 0.01745 x f in cm/deg s = 4.85x10-6 x f in cm/arcsec

for an f/13 telescope of 60 cm diameter: f/d = 13 f = 780 cm s = 0.0037 cm/arcsec 1 cm on detector = 265 arcsec = 4.4 arcmin

Our Nationally Funded Observatories:

NSF (ground)
Kitt Peak National Obs (KPNO, Tucson) Cerro Tololo Interamerican Obs (CTIO, Chile) Gemini (Hawaii and Chile) radio (VLA, New Mexico; Arecibo, Puerto Rico)

NASA (space) + ground (space-related)

HST, Chandra, XMM, GALEX + others Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF, Hawaii) Keck (Hawaii)

US Optical Telescopes in the Next Decade

LSST - 8.4m in Chile, 10 yr imaging survey, $400 million, start 2018 TMT - 30m on Mauna Kea, CA, Canada, Japan, India, China, $1 billion GMT - 7x8.4m=24.5m in Chile, CA, Harvard, Texas, Arizona, Chicago, Australia, Korea

Primary Instruments
1. Camera - Charge Coupled Device : CCD time exposures, stars, clusters, galaxies different lters (colors brightness, variability temps)

2. Spectrograph - slit, lenses, CCD composition temperature velocity

CCDs - invented at Bell Labs about 1970

2D grid of picture elements (pixels) that are 7-30 microns across well capacity 10,000-60,000 e2048x2048 with 2 bytes/pxl = 8MB picture

To use: take prior bias & ats then [prep, expose, read]

Advantages: linear over large range in brightness

good quantum efciency (95% at 6000-9000) dark current small at cold T (-100C)

Disadvantages:
large pixel sizes compared to plates, overall small coverage low blue response long readout times for large arrays cosmic rays add up