Course descriptionArtist's view of BBH coalescence

Introductory course in gravitational wave physics, which provides the basics needed to understand gravitational wave detections. After a general introduction which includes a terse introduction to General Relativity, the course discusses: astrophysical mechanisms of gravitational wave emission; astrophysical sources of gravitational waves; gravitational wave detectors; basics of gravitational-wave signal analysis; achievements and future of gravitational-wave physics and astrophysics.

Prerequisites:
Basic knowledge of ray and wave optics. Special relativity. Fourier series and Fourier transforms.

Timetable and course program

The 2023-24 starts on Tuesday, Oct. 5th, 2023

Place: Physics Department

Latest timetable:
Please check date changes in the detailed program below:

Textbooks and course notes

Textbooks:
  • General relativity: T. A. Moore: "A General Relativity Workbook", University Science Books, 2013 (website)
  • ... (more to come)
Useful study materials
  • Kip Thorne: "Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy", Norton, 1995 (Italian edition: "Buchi neri e salti temporali", Castelvecchi, 2019)
  • J. Foster and J. D. Nightingale: "A Short Course in General Relativity", Springer, 2006, link
Useful links


Exams


All students are expected to prepare a 20-minute-long presentation on a specific course topic, which is agreed in advance. The presentation can be delivered either in English or in Italian, and it should analyze the given topic in depth. The exam also includes additional questions on the other topics in the course program

Do not forget to sign up for the exam on the ESSE3 website. Also, do not forget to evaluate the course (you cannot sign up if you don't evaluate ... )

    List of likely exam questions


Scheduled exam dates:

Exam sessions usually take place in the Physics Dept., and start at 9.30 AM.

List of forthcoming sessions:
Other dates may be agreed with students in case of unexpected difficulties. Please check this page as the exam date approaches, since dates are subject to (small) changes.