Synopsis

This year’s course on Astrophysics of Compact Objects will take place in June and July 2026. It will be given by three lecturers: the first part by Dr. Jakub Klencki and Dr. Jakob Stegmann, research fellows at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, and the second part by Prof. Dr. Alberto Sesana, professor at the University of Milano Bicocca.

The first 4 lectures, by Jakub Klencki, will focus on progenitor aspects (massive stars, binaries etc.). In the second week, the theme of stellar binaries will be continued by Jakob Stegmann with 4 lectures on gravitational dynamics and waves.

The second part of the course, given by Alberto Sesana, will tackle the astrophysics of massive black holes (MBHs) and massive black hole binaries (MBHBs). These lectures will cover the general framework of MBH seed formation within the hierarchical clustering scenario for structure formationand describe how these seeds grow their masses to become supermassive over cosmic history. The lectures will also explain the process of MBH paring following galaxy mergers and the dynamical processes that lead to the formation of MBHBs that will merge via gravitational wave (GW) emission. Finally, the lectures will elaborate on the relevance of these sources for low frequency GW detectors, in particular LISA and Pulsar Timing Arrays.

Lectures and notes

All lectures take place in person in room 0.01 at the AEI Potsdam, and are accessible via Zoom for participants from our partner institutions. The lecture notes can be found in the drop down “Course material” menu above.

Schedule

Jakub Klencki’s lectures: 10-11 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (June 1, 3-5)

Jakob Stegmann’s lectures: 10-11 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday (June 8, 10-11) plus 3-4 p.m. on Monday (June 8)

Alberto Sesana’s lectures (including 15min breaks): 9-11 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (June 29 and July, 1-3)