International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)

Theory Syllabus

• Celestial Mechanics: Newton’s Laws of Gravitation, Kepler’s Laws for circular and non-circular orbits, Roche limit, barycentre, 2-body problem, Lagrange points.
• Electromagnetic Theory & Quantum Physics: Electromagnetic spectrum, Radiation Laws, Blackbody radiation.
• Thermodynamics: Thermodynamic equilibrium, Ideal gas, Energy transfer
• Spectroscopy and Atomic Physics: Absorption, Emission, Scattering, Spectra of Celestial objects, Doppler effect, Line formation, Continuum spectra, Splitting and Broadening of spectral lines, polarization.
• Nuclear Physics: Basic concepts including the structure of an atom, Mass defect and binding energy, Radioactivity, and Neutrinos (Q).

• Celestial Sphere: Spherical trigonometry, Celestial coordinates and their applications, Equinox and Solstice, Circumpolar stars, Constellations and Zodiac.
• Concept of Time: Solar time, Sidereal time, Julian date, Heliocentric Julian date, Time zone, Universal Time, Local Mean Time, Different definitions of “year”, and Equation of time.

• The Sun: Solar structure, Solar surface activities, Solar rotation, Solar radiation and Solar constant, Solar neutrinos (Q), Sun-Earth relations, Role of magnetic fields (Q), Solar wind and radiation pressure, Heliosphere (Q), Magnetosphere (Q)
• The Solar System: Earth-Moon System, precession, nutation, libration, Formation and evolution of the Solar System (Q), Structure and components of the Solar System (Q), Structure and orbits of the Solar System objects, Sidereal and Synodic periods, Retrograde motion, Outer reaches of the solar system (Q)
• Space Exploration: Satellite trajectories and transfers, Human exploration of the Solar System (Q), planetary missions (Q), Sling-shot effect of gravity, Space-based instruments (Q)
• Phenomena: Tides, Seasons, Factors influencing climate (Q), Eclipses, Aurorae and space weather (Q), Meteor Showers

• Stellar Properties: Methods of Distance determination, Radiation, Luminosity and magnitude, Colour indices and temperature, Determination of radii and masses, Stellar motion, Irregular and regular stellar variabilities – broad classification & properties, Cepheids and period-luminosity relation, Physics of pulsation (Q)
• Stellar Interior and Atmospheres: Stellar equilibrium, Stellar nucleosynthesis, Energy transportation (Q), Boundary conditions, Stellar atmospheres and atmospheric spectra
• Stellar Evolution: Stellar formation, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Pre-Main Sequence, Main Sequence, Post-Main Sequence stars, supernovae, planetary nebulae, End states of stars

• Binary Star Systems: Different types of binary stars, Mass determination in binary star systems, Light and radial velocity curves of eclipsing binary systems, Doppler shifts in binary systems, interacting binaries, peculiar binary systems
• Exoplanets: Techniques used to detect exoplanets, Habitable zone, Classes of exoplanets (Q), Spectral signatures of possible life (Q)
• Star Clusters: Classification and Structure, Mass, age, luminosity and distance determination
• Milky Way Galaxy: Structure and composition, Rotation, Satellites of Milky Way (Q)
• Interstellar Medium: Gas (Q), dust (Q), HII regions, 21cm radiation, nebulae (Q), interstellar absorption, dispersion measure, Faraday rotation
• Galaxies: Classifications based on structure, composition and activity, Mass, luminosity and distance determination, Rotation curves
• Accretion Processes: Basic concepts (spherical and disc accretion) (Q), Eddington luminosity

• Elementary Cosmology: Expanding Universe and Hubble’s Law, Cluster of galaxies, Dark matter, Dark energy (Q), Gravitational lensing, Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, Big Bang (Q), Alternative models of the Universe (Q), Large scale structure (Q), Distance measurement at a cosmological scale, cosmological redshift

• Multi-wavelength Astronomy: Observations in radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelength bands, Earth’s atmospheric effects, Artificial light and EM pollution
• Instrumentation: Telescopes and detectors (e.g. charge-coupled devices, photometers, spectrographs), Magnification, Focal length, Focal ratio, resolving and light-gathering powers of telescopes, Geometric model of the two-element interferometer, Aperture synthesis, Adaptive optics, photometry, astrometry

• Normal eye observation
• Application of sky maps and catalogues.
• Usage of coordinate systems in the magnitude estimation, sky, and estimation of angular separation.
• Usage of basic astronomical instruments-telescopes and various detectors for observations.

• Proper calculation of errors, identification of error sources, and estimation of their influence on the final results.
• Proper use of graph papers with different scales, e.g., polar and logarithmic papers. Transformation of the data to get a linear plot and find approximately the “Best Fit” line.
• Basic statistical analysis of the observational data.
• Know the most common experimental techniques for measuring physical quantities.

• Must not have completed 20 years of age before 1st July in the year of the competition.
• The student must not have completed his or her Class 12 before January 1 in the year of the exam.