Syllabus of

International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)

General Notes
1. Extensive contents in basic astronomical concepts are required in

theoretical and practical problems.

2. Basic concepts in physics and mathematics at high school level are

required in solving the problems. Standard solutions should not involve use of calculus and/or the use of complex numbers and/or solving differential equations.
3.

stronomical soft!are pac"ages may be used in practical and observational problems. #he contestants !ill be informed the list of soft!are pac"ages to be used at least 3 months in advance. #he chosen soft!are pac"ages should be preferably free!ares or lo!$cost ones enabling all countries to obtain them easily for practice purpose. #he chosen soft!ares should preferably be available on multiple %Ss &'indo!s / (nix / )*($+inux / ,ac-.

.. /oncepts and phenomena not included in the Syllabus may be used in

questions but sufficient information must be given in the questions so that contestants !ithout previous "no!ledge of these topics !ould not be at a disadvantage.
0. Sophisticated practical equipments li"ely to be unfamiliar to the candidates

should not dominate a problem. 1f such devices are used in the questions2 sufficient information must be provided. 1n such case2 students should be given opportunity to familiarise themselves !ith such equipments.
3. #he original texts of the problems have to be set in the S1 units2 !herever

applicable. 4articipants !ill be expected to mention appropriate units in their ans!ers and should be familiar !ith the idea of correct rounding off and expressing the final result&s- and error&s- !ith correct number of significant digits.

A. Theoretical Part Symbol &5- is attached to some topics in the list. 1t means 6qualitative understanding only7. 5uantitative reasoning / proficiency in these topics is not mandatory. #he follo!ing theoretical contents are proposed for the contestants. 1. asic Astrophysics !ontents !elestial $echanics "emar#s *e!ton8s +a!s of )ravitation2 9epler8s +a!s for circular and non$circular orbits2 :oche limit2 barycentre2 2$body problem2 +agrange points Electromagnetic spectrum2 :adiation +a!s2 Blac"body radiation #hermodynamic equilibrium2 1deal gas2 Energy transfer bsorption2 Emission2 Scattering2 Spectra of /elestial ob;ects2 <oppler effect2 +ine formations2 /ontinuum spectra2 Splitting and Broadening of spectral lines2 polarisation Basic concepts including structure of atom2 ,ass defect and binding energy :adioactivity2 *eutrinos &5-

%lectroma&netic Theory ' (uantum Physics Thermodynamics Spectroscopy and Atomic Physics

Nuclear Physics

). !oordinates and Times !ontents !elestial Sphere "emar#s Spherical trigonometry2 /elestial coordinates and their applications2 Equinox and Solstice2 /ircumpolar stars2 /onstellations and =odiac Solar time2 Sidereal time2 >ulian date2 ?eliocentric >ulian date2 #ime @one2 (niversal #ime2 +ocal ,ean #ime 2 <ifferent definitions of 6year72 Equation of time

!oncept of Time

*. Solar System !ontents The Sun "emar#s Solar structure2 Solar surface activities2 Solar rotation2 Solar radiation and Solar constant2 Solar neutrinos &5-2 Sun$Earth relations2 :ole of magnetic fields &5-2 Solar !ind and radiation pressure2 ?eliosphere &5-2 ,agnetosphere &5Earth$,oon System2 precession2 nutation2 libration2 Aormation and evolution of the Solar System &5-2 Structure and components of the Solar System &5-2 Structure and orbits of the Solar System ob;ects2 Sidereal and Synodic periods2 :etrograde motion2 %uter reaches of the solar system &5Satellite tra;ectories and transfers2 ?uman exploration of the Solar System &5-2 planetary missions &5-2 Sling$shot effect of gravity2 Space$based instruments &5#ides2 Seasons2 Eclipses2 urorae &5-2 ,eteor Sho!ers

The Solar System

Space %+ploration

Phenomena

,. Stars !ontents Stellar Properties "emar#s ,ethods of <istance determination2 :adiation2 +uminosity and magnitude2 /olor indices and temperature2 <etermination of radii and masses2 Stellar motion2 1rregular and regular stellar variabilities B broad classification C properties2 /epheids C period$luminosity relation2 4hysics of pulsation &5Stellar equilibrium2 Stellar nucleosynthesis2 Energy transportation &5-2 Boundary conditions2 Stellar

Stellar Interior and Atmospheres

atmospheres and atmospheric spectra Stellar %-olution Stellar formation2 ?ert@sprung$:ussell diagram2 4re$,ain Sequence2 ,ain Sequence2 4ost$,ain Sequence stars2 supernovae2 planetary nebulae2 End states of stars

.. Stellar Systems !ontents inary Star Systems "emar#s <ifferent types of binary stars2 ,ass determination in binary star systems2 +ight and radial velocity curves of eclipsing binary systems2 <oppler shifts in binary systems2 interacting binaries2 peculiar binary systems #echniques used to detect exoplanets /lassification and Structure2 ,ass2 age2 luminosity and distance determination Structure and composition2 :otation2 Satellites of ,il"y 'ay &5)as &5-2 dust &5-2 ?11 regions2 21cm radiation2 nebulae &5-2 interstellar absorption2 dispersion measure2 Aaraday rotation /lassifications based on structure2 composition and activity2 ,ass2 luminosity and distance determination2 :otation curves Basic concepts &spherical and disc accretion- &5-2 Eddington luminosity

%+oplanets Star !lusters $il#y /ay Gala+y Interstellar $edium

Gala+ies

Accretion Processes

0. !osmolo&y

!ontents %lementary !osmolo&y

"emar#s Expanding (niverse and ?ubble8s +a!2 /luster of galaxies2 <ar" matter2 <ar" energy &5-2 )ravitational lensing2 /osmic ,icro!ave Bac"ground :adiation2 Big Bang &5-2 lternative models of the (niverse &5-2 +arge scale structure &5-2 <istance measurement at cosmological scale2 cosmological redshift

1. Instrumentation and Space Technolo&ies !ontents $ulti23a-elen&th Astronomy "emar#s %bservations in radio2 micro!ave2 infrared2 visible2 ultraviolet2 D$ray2 and gamma$ray !avelength bands2 Earth8s atmospheric effects #elescopes and detectors &e.g. charge$ coupled devices2 photometers2 spectrographs-2 ,agnification2 Aocal length2 Aocal ratio2 resolving and light$ gathering po!ers of telescopes2 )eometric model of t!o element interferometer2 perture synthesis2 daptive optics2 photometry2 astrometry

Instrumentation

. Practical Part #his part consists of 2 sectionsE observations and data analysis sections. #he theoretical part of the Syllabus provides the basis for all problems in the practical part. #he observations section focuses on contestant8s experience in 1. na"ed$eye observations2
2. usage of s"y maps and catalogues2 3. application of coordinate systems in the s"y2 magnitude estimation2

estimation of angular separation

.. usage of basic astronomical instrumentsBtelescopes and various

detectors for observations but enough instructions must be provided to the contestants. %bservational ob;ects may be from real sources in the s"y or imitated sources in the laboratory. /omputer simulations may be used in the problems but sufficient instructions must be provided to the contestants. #he data analysis section focuses on the calculation and analysis of the astronomical data provided in the problems. dditional requirements are as follo!sE 1. 4roper identification of error sources2 calculation of errors2 and estimation of their influence on the final results.
2. 4roper use of graph papers !ith different scales2 e.g.2 polar and

logarithmic papers. #ransformation of the data to get a linear plot and finding 6Best Ait7 line approximately.
3. Basic statistical analysis of the observational data. .. 9no!ledge of the most common experimental techniques for measuring

physical quantities mentioned in 4art .