PHYS 290: Black Hole Astrophysics

Welcome, black hole mechanics!

This repository hosts software and related materials for PHYS 290: Black Hole Astrophysics, a Special Topics course offered in spring 2020 at Allegheny College.

Contents

This repository contains the following materials:

• Course website
• Installation guide for the black-hole-3.7 conda environment
• A library of Jupyter notebooks with worked examples

Installing Git

Git is a widely-used version control system that allows large groups of people to easily share and distribute software. In this course I will use Git to post (and occasionally fix) interactive software tutorials for students, which simulate orbits around black holes and dig into various data analysis and signal processing techniques.

In general, Git often comes pre-installed on Mac and Linux systems, but not on Windows. For Windows users, Git can be installed (for free) by following this link and selecting the best graphical installer for your operating system.

Note for Mac users: if Git is installed on your system but doesn't work straight away, you may need to re-install xcode tools:

xcode-select --install

This is annoying, but harmless, as the tools are open-source (i.e., free) and should take only a few minutes to install.

Access

To clone this repository, open an app called Terminal (on Mac or Linux) or Git Shell (on Windows) and do the following:

mkdir -p ~/src
cd ~/src/
git clone https://github.com/alurban/black-hole-astrophysics.git

Alternatively, you can download a ZIP-compressed version using the "clone or download" button at the top of this page. This will work from any system, but you won't be able to inherit any changes or updates.

Pulling updates

Disclaimer: you will be able to track upstream changes and work from this clone, but you will not be able to push changes back to master unless I grant you permissions. Please email me if you would like to discuss setting up push privileges.

Git allows users to access the full history of edits to files in this repository. The primary branch of that history, by convention, is referred to as master. This is analogous to music production, where audio engineers keep a running copy of progress on a song called the master copy.

Whenever I post updates, fixes, or new software notebooks, you can pull them down to your laptop by opening Terminal (on Mac or Linux) or Git Shell (on Windows) and doing the following:

cd ~/src/black-hole-astrophysics
git pull

Note: this assumes you've checked out the master branch, which is almost certainly the case. If you want to be more careful you can instead use a slightly longer command:

git pull --rebase origin master

You may occasionally need to stash any local changes before pulling, in which case you can do:

git stash

I recommend copying any changed files to a separate location beforehand, so that you don't lose them in the stash.

This barely scratches the surface of what you can do with Git. For more information, consider visiting the extensive online documentation.

Other resources

At Allegheny College

• Pelletier Library
• Dean of Students office
• The Writing Center
• Learning Commons
• Student resources
• Counseling Center (a 24-hour crisis line may be reached at +1 814-332-2105)

Data science and signal processing

• A neat Python tutorial with focus on data science
• Stackoverflow, a vast font of wisdom for coding and debugging
• A collection of tutorials centered on gravitational wave signal processing

My work experience

• LIGO Livingston Observatory
• Online version of my curriculum vitae

Misc.

Pro tip: if your eyes hurt after staring at a computer screen all day, consider using software that adjusts your monitor's color filter to reflect indoor vs. outdoor lighting conditions, such as f.lux.

Finally, if you're feeling overwhelmed, take a break from science with this random cute animal generator!

Legalese

Software and materials in this repository are provided under the terms of the MIT License. Strictly speaking, you are free to modify, distribute, and use this software for any purpose (with appropriate citation) with the understanding that it comes "as-is" and has no warranty.