Difference between revisions of "Litclub"

Revision as of 17:27, 24 October 2023

What is LitClub?

LitClub is a weekly meeting held at the Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory for all observatory members. The meeting consists of a presentation of a scientific, astrophysics-related paper chosen by a speaker, who was selected to give a talk for the current week and is followed by a general discussion. The goals of the meeting are the following:

to improve communication and presentation skills for bachelor, master, and PhD students
to provide a platform for free and casual discussion of scientific topics
to learn more ;-)
to bring all our groups together

LitClub takes place on Tuesdays at 11:00, in the conference room in the main observatory building.

LitClub is a mandatory activity for all observatory members. All students are on the list of presenters. All postdocs are expected to contribute to the discussion and to take over the presentation in case the speaker has to cancel last minute.

Please find below the general rules and commonly asked questions.

Organization

Every week a person chosen to present a paper.

How a person is chosen?

The selection of a presenter is done semi-randomly by Ingo, taking into account information about people's availability. At the beginning of the semester, a table is sent around where you can enter your availability on certain weeks (yes, all students are expected to be available a respectable amount of weeks per semester to make a presentation). If an observatory member provided no information in the table, the LitClub organizers assume that this person is available on any given day. A presenter is informed about the presentation a few days in advance.

How a presented paper is chosen?

A presenter chooses a paper from a list below, which contain the classical ("must-read") astrophysics-related papers, as well as some new advanced in the field. A different paper can be chosen, providing that it comes from a peer-reviewed journal and is clearly related to astrophysics (down to planetary science and instruments). In case you want to present something different, for example, to talk about your part or present research, please contact the organizers to agree on this case: astro-literature@lists.fau.de.

How presentation is done? Presentation at LitClub requires a few prepared slides with the most essential information, which helps guide you (and your audience) through your talk. Any time-consuming design features are strongly discouraged: as you are expected to prepare a plane and quick slides with valuable content.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really mandatory for all students?

Yes.

What if I cannot present when I am asked?

In this case, you have to find a person who could present instead of you on the date. At the same time, you are expected to give a presentation within a few following weeks.

What is a respectful reason to not present, when I was asked?

Lectures and examinations - confirmed by schedule or vacation and sickness - confirmed with your supervisor. In the case of one of these reasons, please see a previous question. If you got sick on the day of the presentation and there was no time to find a different speaker, you will be shifted to one of the following weeks and LitClub will be conducted by one (or a few) of the observatory postdocs.

I have an upcoming conference talk, is it a good reason to not present at LitClub a week before?

No. It is expected that the LitClub will not take too much of your preparation time. If it does - you need (want) to learn how to make it quicker, which is possible only by practice.

I am working on my master (bachelor/PhD) thesis, is it a respectful reason to not present at LitClub?

No. Only if you have a defence within a few days of the LitClub in question. Otherwise: it is a really time for you to work with a lot of literature. Just pick one of the papers you read recently for your thesis and present it.

Do I have to have slides for the presentation

Yes. The current request by our professors is that you would prepare simple slides with the main information.

How much time I am expected to spend to prepare for the LitClub presentation?

It depends on the paper you choose, but in general, you should be able to prepare your talk within half of a working day.

Contact

For questions and comments, please contact the organizers: astro-literature@lists.fau.de. Any major modifications to the structure of LitClub will be discussed with the professors.

Litclub Paper List (WILL BE UPDATED!!!)

We collect potentially interesting papers in an ADS library to give some inspiration (a separate library lists the already presented papers). But everyone is encouraged to present any interesting scientific work, not restricted to astronomy! Also, in case you found interesting papers feel free to add them to the list below (create sections as required).

X-ray astronomy

- Electromagnetic extraction of energy from Kerr black holes (Blandford-Znajek mechanism): Blandford, Znajek, MNRAS 179, 433, 1977 ^[1] (although, astrophysically, the Blandford-Payne mechanism likely contributes more to jet launching, e.g., Livio, Ogilvie, Pringle, ApJ 512, 100, 1999)

- "The corona contracts in a black-hole transient": Kara et al., Nature 565 198, 2019 ^[2], although this result is disputed (e.g., arxiv/2112.08116)

- Connection of FRBs and magnetars: "INTEGRAL Discovery of a Burst with Associated Radio Emission from the Magnetar SGR 1935+2154" (Mereghetti, 2020ApJ...898L..29M)

- "Discovery of oscillations above 200 keV in a black hole X-ray binary with Insight-HXMT" (Ma et al., 2021NatAs...5...94M)

- "Cygnus X-1 contains a 21-solar mass black hole—Implications for massive star winds" (Miller-Jones 2021Sci...371.1046M)

- EuCAPT White Paper: Opportunities and Challenges for Theoretical Astroparticle Physics in the Next Decade (Batista et al., arxiv.org/abs/2110.10074) - perhaps too long but really interesting summary

- Dark Energy Survey 3 Year Results (e.g., http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021arXiv210513549D)

Aliens? :0

- Estimating the prevalence of malicious extraterrestrial civilizations (Caballero 2022arXiv220511618C) [1]

Cosmology

- Is the Expansion of the Universe Accelerating? All Signs Still Point to Yes: A Local Dipole Anisotropy Cannot Explain Dark Energy [2]

Statistics

- "STATISTICS, HANDLE WITH CARE: DETECTING MULTIPLE MODEL COMPONENTS WITH THE LIKELIHOOD RATIO TEST" (Protassov, 2002ApJ...571..545P)

Some more extravagant stuff

- The Breakthrough Listen Search For Intelligent Life Near the Galactic Center (Gajjar et al., ApJ 162, 33, 2021)

- An Objective Bayesian Analysis of Life's Early Start and Our Late Arrival (Kipping, 2020, https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.09008)

Non-astrophysics

- creating unique random numbers using the quantum noise of the vacuum: Gabriel et al., Nature Photonics 4, 711, 2010

↑ [3]Blandford, Znajek, MNRAS 179, 433, 1977
↑ [4]Kara et al., Nature 565 198, 2019

[1] [3]Blandford, Znajek, MNRAS 179, 433, 1977

[2] [4]Kara et al., Nature 565 198, 2019

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 == What is LitClub? ==
-The goal is to provide a platform for free and casual discussion of scientific topics while also serving as a good way to improve communication and presentation skills. The general idea is to have a place for everybody to discuss new and interesting research topics that's been going on in other fields of Astronomy, Physics and sometimes even other sciences, as well as for more senior researchers at the observatory to share some of their expertise.
+LitClub is a weekly meeting held at the Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory for all observatory members. The meeting consists of a presentation of a scientific, astrophysics-related paper chosen by a speaker, who was selected to give a talk for the current week and is followed by a general discussion. The goals of the meeting are the following:
-=== When? ===
+* to improve communication and presentation skills for bachelor, master, and PhD students
+* to provide a platform for free and casual discussion of scientific topics
+* to learn more ;-)
+* to bring all our groups together
-Typically every two weeks on Wednesday, at 11.00.
+LitClub takes place on Tuesdays at 11:00, in the conference room in the main observatory building.
-Currently proposed time slot is Tuesdays at 11.30, so that there is no clash with Colloquium talks that take place in Erlangen.
+LitClub is a mandatory activity for all observatory members. All students are on the list of presenters. All postdocs are expected to contribute to the discussion and to take over the presentation in case the speaker has to cancel last minute.
-=== Who? ===
+Please find below the general rules and commonly asked questions.
-Anyone! Students are especially encouraged to join, but this should appeal to anyone who'd like to learn more about science outside their own sphere of influence/experience.
+== Organization ==
-=== How? ===
+Every week a person chosen to present a paper.
-Given their availability, someone is assigned to present a paper of their choice from the list below and is usually given notice of a few days in advance. This is to ensure that LitClub doesn't end up taking too much time in prep., as we want to try to ensure that it remains casual. The presenter can choose however they'd like to present the paper. The goal is not a polished presentation, but to get the point of a paper across enough to spark discussion.
+'''How a person is chosen?'''
-=== Where? ===
+The selection of a presenter is done semi-randomly by Ingo, taking into account information about people's availability. At the beginning of the semester, a table is sent around where you can enter your availability on certain weeks (yes, all students are expected to be available a respectable amount of weeks per semester to make a presentation). If an observatory member provided no information in the table, the LitClub organizers assume that this person is available on any given day. A presenter is informed about the presentation a few days in advance.
-The conference room, for in-person attendees, and the rest via zoom. The current plan is to facilitate this hybrid configuration to accommodate for as many people as possible.
+'''How a presented paper is chosen?'''
-If you have questions, suggestions for topics/papers, or want to give a talk please write a mail to [mailto:astro-literature@lists.fau.de astro-literature@lists.fau.de]
+A presenter chooses a paper from a list below, which contain the classical ("must-read") astrophysics-related papers, as well as some new advanced in the field. A different paper can be chosen, providing that it comes from a peer-reviewed journal and is clearly related to astrophysics (down to planetary science and instruments). In case you want to present something different, for example, to talk about your part or present research, please contact the organizers to agree on this case:
+[mailto:astro-literature@lists.fau.de astro-literature@lists.fau.de].
-== Meetings ==
+'''How presentation is done?'''
+Presentation at LitClub requires a few prepared slides with the most essential information, which helps guide you (and your audience) through your talk. Any time-consuming design features are strongly discouraged: as you are expected to prepare a plane and quick slides with valuable content.
-'''Semi-inaugural meeting - 15-06-2022: Jakob Stierhof'''
+== Frequently Asked Questions ==
-Spectrally resolved imaging with the solar gravitational lens [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022arXiv220603037T/abstract]
+'''Is it really mandatory for all students?'''
-- The paper proposes using diffraction by the solar gravitational field as a "lens" to image exoplanets. They suggest that a telescope placed at the focal length of this lens would be able to capture images of exoplanets.
+Yes.
-- They show that the light remains relatively unchanged in the optical and infrared regimes and describe a method of reconstruction of images of faint and extended sources. They also suggest that the telescope must include an external occulter (starshade) that can block sunlight which would preclude capturing any information bent by the corona.
+'''What if I cannot present when I am asked?'''
-'''29-06-2022: Aafia Zainab'''
+In this case, you have to find a person who could present instead of you on the date. At the same time, you are expected to give a presentation within a few following weeks.
-Hydrodynamical backflow in X-shaped radio galaxy PKS 2014-55 [https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.02723]
+'''What is a respectful reason to not present, when I was asked?'''
-- X-shaped radio galaxies show radio emission in the shape of an "X". Models attempting to explain this include (i) re-orientation of the black hole spin, (ii) superposition of jets from two SMBHs, or (iii) hydrodynamical backflows from the jets which are suggested to be deflected by the galaxy's ISM.
+Lectures and examinations - confirmed by schedule or vacation and sickness - confirmed with your supervisor. In the case of one of these reasons, please see a previous question. If you got sick on the day of the presentation and there was no time to find a different speaker, you will be shifted to one of the following weeks and LitClub will be conducted by one (or a few) of the observatory postdocs.
-- The paper reports analysis of a MEERKAT radio image of galaxy PKS 2014-55 to support the third model, concluding that the "double boomerang" structure they see is evidence of backflows from the ISM, and that re-orientation of spin is unlikely in this case.
+'''I have an upcoming conference talk, is it a good reason to not present at LitClub a week before?'''
-'''13-07-2022: Jonathan Knies'''
+No. It is expected that the LitClub will not take too much of your preparation time. If it does - you need (want) to learn how to make it quicker, which is possible only by practice.
-The Habitable-zone Planet Finder Detects a Terrestrial-mass Planet Candidate Closely Orbiting Gliese 1151: The Likely Source of Coherent Low-frequency Radio Emission from an Inactive Star [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2102.02233.pdf]
+'''I am working on my master (bachelor/PhD) thesis, is it a respectful reason to not present at LitClub?'''
-- Radio emission from a planet orbiting an M-dwarf star points to new method of detecting exoplanets. The radio emission is due to sub Alfven interactions between the star's plasma and the planet's magnetic field. Something similar can also be seen in the Jupiter-Io system.
+No. Only if you have a defence within a few days of the LitClub in question. Otherwise: it is a really time for you to work with a lot of literature. Just pick one of the papers you read recently for your thesis and present it.
-- The paper reports analysis of data from HPF, TESS etc. and reports an orbital period of the planet of about 2 days, placing it at 18 R_*. The planet does not show up using the transit method, which would have required a very small inclination angle suggesting that it would've been missed if not for the radio detection.
+'''Do I have to have slides for the presentation'''
-There is an astrobite on this topic! [https://astrobites.org/2022/03/29/planet-responsible-for-mysterious-radio-signal-not-aliens/]
+Yes. The current request by our professors is that you would prepare simple slides with the main information.
-'''09-11-2022: Federico Zangrandi'''
+'''How much time I am expected to spend to prepare for the LitClub presentation?'''
-First JWST observations of a gravitational lens: Mass model from new multiple images with near-infrared observations of SMACS J0723.3−7327 [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2207.07567.pdf]
+It depends on the paper you choose, but in general, you should be able to prepare your talk within half of a working day.
-- The paper reports analysis of new JWST results combined with archival HST and MUSE data of the cluster SMACS J0723.3−7327. They present their strong lensing model which has resulted in more than double the number of 'multiple' images found with HST data, showing how useful JWST can be.
+== Contact ==
-- Among the galaxies that they estimate redshifts for, they find one with z~7.5 making it the highest known redshift galaxy.
+For questions and comments, please contact the organizers: [mailto:astro-literature@lists.fau.de astro-literature@lists.fau.de].
+Any major modifications to the structure of LitClub will be discussed with the professors.
-== Litclub Paper List ==
+== Litclub Paper List (WILL BE UPDATED!!!)==
 We collect potentially interesting papers in an [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/user/libraries/8mOwkXjvQl206110FBulVw ADS library] to give some inspiration (a separate [https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/user/libraries/9B-WkBVbTAmnzI7rmQ7dtA library] lists the already presented papers). But everyone is encouraged to present any interesting scientific work, not restricted to astronomy! Also, in case you found interesting papers feel free to add them to the list below (create sections as required).