Experiments

• AG - astrophysics and geophysics
• BK - biophysics and complex systems
• FM - solid state physics and physics of materials
• KT - nuclear physics and particle physics

AG - astrophysics and geophysics

• AG.CCD - Astronomical CCD Calibrations and Observations
• AG.DEN - The Curious Case of Dark Energy
• AG.DMH - Numerical Analysis and Data Visualisation for Dark Matter Halos
• AG.GMC - Gravity-Media Correspondence
• AG.MWH - The Microwave Sky
• AG.RBK - Rayleigh-Bénard Convection
• AG.VOB - Virtual Observatory

AG.CCD - Astronomical CCD Calibrations and Observations

Charge-coupled devices (CCD) are a common sensor type for astrophysical observations at optical and X-ray wavelengths. The inventors of these particularly light-sensitive sensors were honored with the Nobel Prize for physics in 2009. In this lab course you will learn to operate a CCD camera and observation software, to identify the signal and noise sources, and to calibrate scientific CCD images so far that you can determine the amount of photons detected and the quality of such measurements. The main focus is the complete calibration of the camera (bias, gain, readout, QE, dust) with a CCD type sensor. You will learn to use professional tools, which is why the analyzes are made in the programming language PYTHON.