Class Announcements:

2022-03-27: Class announcements will appear here periodically.

Contact details:

• Instructor: Stephen Kane
• Office: Pierce Hall 2360
• Phone: 951-827-6593
• Email: skane@ucr.edu

Download the class syllabus here.

Class times:

• Tuesday, 9:30am-10:50am Geology 1444
• Wednesday, 10:00am-10:50am Geology 1444 (Discussion)
• Thursday, 9:30am-10:50am Geology 1444

Text:

• "The Exoplanet Handbook", 2nd edition by Michael Perryman
• I also recommend "Exoplanets" edited by Sara Seager

Important Dates:

• April 21: Literature Review topic due
• May 31: Literature Review due
• June 1: Summary class
• June 2: FINAL EXAM 9:30am-10:50am in class

Useful Links:

• The NASA Astrophysics Data System
• astro-ph preprint server
• The Habitable Zone Gallery
• The NASA Exoplanet Archive
• The Exoplanet Data Explorer
• The Systemic Console

Lectures:

• Lecture 1 - Introduction
  - Voyager 2 - Uranus movie
• Lecture 2 - Stars I
• Lecture 3 - Stars II
• Lecture 4 - The Solar System
  - Discovery rate of asteroids animation
  - "Detecting the signatures of Uranus and Neptune" paper
• Lecture 5 - Exoplanet History I
• Lecture 6 - Exoplanet History II
• Lecture 7 - Keplerian Orbits
  - "The Convergence of Newton-Raphson Iteration with Kepler's Equation" paper
• Lecture 8 - Radial Velocities I
  - A Detailed Derivation of the Radial Velocity Equation
  - Radial velocity animation: circular orbit
  - Radial velocity animation: elliptical orbit
  - "iota Draconis" paper
• Lecture 9 - Radial Velocities II
• Lecture 10 - Astrometry
• Lecture 11 - Timing
• Lecture 12 - Microlensing
  - "Gravitational Microlensing in the Local Group" paper
• Lecture 13 - Transits I
• Lecture 14 - Transits II
• Lecture 15 - Imaging
• Lecture 16 - Ephemerides
  - "Constraining Orbital Parameters through Planetary Transit Monitoring" paper
  - "Refining Exoplanet Ephemerides and Transit Observing Strategies" paper
• Lecture 17 - Host Stars
  - "Habitable Zone Dependence on Stellar Parameter Uncertainties" paper
  - "The Solar Neighborhood. XVII. Parallax Results from the CTIOPI 0.9 m Program: 20 New Members of the RECONS 10 Parsec Sample" paper
  - "Stellar Diameters and Temperatures. II. Main-sequence K- and M-stars" paper
  - "The Planet-Metallicity Correlation" paper
  - "An abundance of small exoplanets around stars with a wide range of metallicities" paper
  - "Three regimes of extrasolar planet radius inferred from host star metallicities" paper
• Lecture 18 - Space Missions
• Lecture 19 - Summary/Discussion
• Lecture 20 - Final Exam

Assessment:

• Homework (40%): There will be four homeworks during the semester. Most problems will require analytic solutions, however there will usually be one problem per assignment that will involve graphing and numerical solution with computer software such as Mathematica, MATLAB, or any programming language.
• Literature Review (30%): Students will be required to write a 4-page critique of a published paper. The chosen paper must be exoplanet-related and published in a refereed journal. The critique must include a summary of the paper, why the paper was chosen, and discuss aspects such as key results, their significance, and original ideas on future work. There are several places to find exoplanet papers, such as the NASA Astrophysics Data System. The easiest method may be to use the astro-ph.EP category of the preprint archive.
• Final Exam (30%): The final exam will test on all material covered during the quarter and will be held during the final class. Please arrive on time. If you arrive after someone else has finished the exam, you may not take that exam.

Final Grades:

• A = 90% to 100%
• B = 77% to 89%
• C = 65% to 76%
• D = 50% to 64%
• F = below 50%