ASP4002 · Astrophysics research project B

Overview

You will undertake a project, involving original research in one of the School's research themes, which encompass a diverse range of "cutting-edge" topics, including: active galaxies, astrophysical fluid dynamics and magneto-hydrodynamics, galaxy evolution, first stars, the formation of stars, stellar evolution, stellar nucleosynthesis, nuclear astrophysics, chemical evolution, galactic archaeology, supernovae and supernovae remnants, neutron stars, stellar transients, super massive black holes, high energy astrophysics, gravitational wave astronomy, stellar and planetary dynamics and exoplanets. A full list of projects will be made available to you prior to commencing the MSc program. The research project may be observational, computational or theoretical in nature, or it may involve a combination of these research paradigms. You will be assigned an academic supervisor (or supervisors), who will oversee the research project and provide mentoring. You are required to undertake a comprehensive literature review and report your preliminary results via a seminar. The major outcomes of the project will be communicated in the form of a thesis. You will also be required to defend your research outcomes via an oral examination. Your project will likely be continued into the second year of the MSc program; hence ASP4001 and ASP4002 will lay the foundations for a substantial ongoing research project in the second year of the degree. As part of your research training, you will be affiliated with one of the School's research groups (aligned with your research project) and will be required to attend fortnightly group meetings, seminars and colloquia. Opportunities will also be provided to you to receive training in specialist areas associated with your research project, e.g., technical computing, visualisation of data, specific observational techniques, etc.

Areas of study: Master of Science in Astrophysics

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. Understand, use and explain the basic concepts and principles of the research literature which underpin the chosen area of astrophysics research.
2. Synthesise and interpret the knowledge gained in the study of the underpinning research literature. This leads to the ability to identify a niche topic or topics within this existing body of literature, which represents a gap in current knowledge. This problem should be suitable for original research.
3. Advance our understanding of an existing problem or problems in the chosen area for original research.
4. Present the results of the original research in written form as a thesis, and also present key thesis results in oral form as a final seminar.
5. Defend the results of the original research in an oral exam.

Workload

24 hours per week which includes 18 hours of independent research; 4 hours of literature review, seminar and thesis preparation (averaged over the semester); attendance at group meetings, seminars colloquia equivalent to 1 hour per week; specialist training and consultation with a supervisor, 1 hour each per fortnight.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.