JTW > Courses > ASTP 611: Statistical Methods for Astrophysics > Course Calendar
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This table gives a tentative timetable for the course. Everything in it, including the dates of homeworks and exams, is subject to change.

Tuesday Þursday
Tuesday Þursday
Wk01 Jan 29 (Wed)

Part One: Fourier Analysis

Continuous Fourier Transforms

Jan 31 (Fri)

Part One: Fourier Analysis

Discrete Fourier Transforms

Wk02 Feb 5 (Wed)

Part One: Fourier Analysis

Spectral Analysis of Random Data

Feb 6

Part One: Fourier Analysis

Power Spectrum Estimation; Problem Set 1 due

Wk03 Feb 11

Part Two: Probability Theory

Fundamentals of Probability; Problem Set 2 due

Feb 13

Part Two: Probability Theory

Probability Distributions

Wk04 Feb 18

Part Two: Probability Theory

Multivariate Distributions

Feb 20

Part Two: Probability Theory

Binomial, Poisson and Exponential Distributions; Problem Set 3 due

Wk05 Feb 21 (Fri)

Part Two: Probability Theory

Gamma, Gaussian and Chi-Squared Distributions

Mar 7 (Fri)

Part Two: Probability Theory

Sums of Random Variables; The Central Limit Theorem

Wk06 Mar 4

Review for Prelim Exam 1; Problem Set 4 due Feb 27

Mar 6

FIRST PRELIM EXAM

Wk07 Mar 11

Part Two: Probability Theory

Multivariate Normal Distribution

Mar 13

Part Two: Probability Theory

Student's Theorem; Problem Set 5 problem 1 due

Wk08 Mar 18

Part Two: Probability Theory

Reduced Chi-Squared; Problem Set 5 problem 1 due

Mar 20

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Inference Case Study: Statistics Constructed from Data

Mar 25

No Class

(Spring Break)

Mar 27

No Class

(Spring Break)

Wk09 Apr 1

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Maximum Likelihood Estimates; Fisher Matrix; Problem Set 6 due

Apr 3

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Plausible Intervals and Confidence Intervals

Wk10 Apr 8

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Frequentist Hypothesis Testing

Apr 10

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Bayesian Hypothesis Testing (Bayes Factor); Problem Set 7 due

Wk11 Apr 15

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Monte Carlo Methods

Apr 17

Review for Prelim Exam 2; Problem Set 8 due

Wk12 Apr 22

SECOND PRELIM EXAM

Apr 24

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Markov Chain Monte Carlo

Wk13 Apr 29

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Counting Experiments with Known Background Rate; Problem Set 9 due

May 1

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Counting Experiments with Unknown Background Rate (ON/OFF)

Wk14 May 6

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Jeffreys Prior; Conjugate Prior Family

May 8

Part Three: Statistical Inference

Maximum Entropy; Problem Set 10 due

Wk15 May 13

Review for Final Exam; Problem Set 11 due

May 15

No Class

(Study Period)


Last Modified: 2014 May 19

Dr. John T. Whelan / john.whelan@astro.rit.edu / Professor, School of Mathematical Sciences & Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology

The contents of this communication are the sole responsibility of Prof. John T. Whelan and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of RIT, SMS, or CCRG.

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