(app:f)=
# Suggested 14-Week Course Plan
This schedule gives one semester-length ordering for reading and project work. It can be compressed or expanded, but Chapters {ref}`chap:01`--{ref}`chap:07` should usually remain in place, because the later science cases rely on event tables, coherence functions, instrumental errors, and correlators.

(appsec:f-goals)=
## Course Goals and Grading Structure
By the end of the course, a student should be able to start from a science question and write down the observable, event-table fields, core formulas, orders of magnitude, error budget, null tests, and reproducible code. A useful grading structure is: weekly reading notes $20\%$, three short computational assignments $30\%$, one midterm observing-design project $20\%$, and a final project report with code $30\%$.

| Deliverable | Content | Evaluation |
|:--------------|:------------------------|:-------------------------|
| Reading notes | One page each week, listing the main observables, formulas, scales, and questions. | Shows understanding of the formula assumptions, rather than substituting copied abstracts for understanding. |
| Short computational assignments | Event tables, $g^{(2)}$, visibility, Fisher information, or error budgets. | Correct units, clear figures, and runnable code. |
| Midterm design | One executable observing or laboratory plan. | Complete photon rate, baseline, background, calibration, and failure criteria. |
| Final project | Code, PDF figures, short report, and null tests. | Reproducibility and clear treatment of systematic errors. |

(appsec:f-foundation)=
## Weeks 1--5: Foundations and Instruments
| Week | Reading | Class focus | Assignment |
|:-------|:---------------|:-------------------|:--------------------|
| 1 | Chapter {ref}`chap:01` | Event tables, observables, units, and orders of magnitude. | Generate a light curve and one simple statistic from the same event table. |
| 2 | Chapters {ref}`chap:02`--{ref}`chap:03` | Why mean intensity is not enough; common optical states. | Compare count statistics for thermal and coherent light. |
| 3 | Chapter {ref}`chap:04` | $g^{(1)}$, $g^{(2)}$, the Siegert relation, and multimode dilution. | Plot $g^{(2)}$ contrast for different mode numbers and time bins. |
| 4 | Chapter {ref}`chap:05` | VCZ, uniform disks, binaries, and SII signal-to-noise ratio. | Fit a simulated uniform-disk angular diameter. |
| 5 | Chapters {ref}`chap:06`--{ref}`chap:07` | Detectors, time synchronization, correlators, and null tests. | Write an event-table correlator and perform a time-shift check. |

(appsec:f-science)=
## Weeks 6--10: Source Models and Science Questions
| Week | Reading | Class focus | Assignment |
|:-------|:---------------|:-------------------|:--------------------|
| 6 | Chapter {ref}`chap:08` | Rayleigh curse, SPADE, and Fisher information. | Compare small-separation errors for direct imaging and mode measurements. |
| 7 | Chapters {ref}`chap:09`--{ref}`chap:10` | Radiation mechanisms, thermal-light approximation, stellar angular diameters, and binaries. | Use $|V|^2$ to distinguish a uniform-disk toy model from a binary toy model. |
| 8 | Chapters {ref}`chap:11`--{ref}`chap:12` | Compact objects, pulsars, black holes, and photon rings. | Design an event table that preserves phase or time-tag information. |
| 9 | Chapter {ref}`chap:13` | Transient triggers, angular expansion, and multi-messenger delays. | Build a Type Ia or nova angular-expansion toy model. |
| 10 | Chapters {ref}`chap:14`--{ref}`chap:16` | Propagation, polarization rotation, lensing, new physics, and the CMB. | Separate one ordinary propagation term from one new-physics candidate term. |

(appsec:f-project)=
## Weeks 11--14: Design, Projects, and Reporting
| Week | Reading | Class focus | Assignment |
|:-------|:---------------|:-------------------|:--------------------|
| 11 | Chapters {ref}`chap:17`--{ref}`chap:18` | Quantum-network boundaries, observing design, and error budgets. | Write a one-page observing-proposal abstract. |
| 12 | Chapter {ref}`chap:19` | Ranking first-generation science cases. | Assign readiness scores to three candidate projects. |
| 13 | Chapters {ref}`chap:20`--{ref}`chap:21` | Teaching experiments, common pitfalls, false alarms, and new-physics boundaries. | Finish project code, figures, and two null tests. |
| 14 | Chapter {ref}`chap:22` | From course project to proposal. | Submit the final report, code, and milestone table. |

(appsec:f-project-list)=
## Final-Project Topic Bank
| Topic | Basic content | Recommended extension |
|:------------------|:------------------------|:----------------------|
| Tabletop HBT | Event table, delay histogram, time shift, and response kernel. | Compare laser, LED, and pseudo-thermal light. |
| Uniform-disk fitting | $|V|^2$ simulation, angular-diameter posterior, and baseline coverage. | Add limb darkening or calibrator-star uncertainty. |
| Binary intensity interferometry | Flux ratio, angular separation, position angle, and multi-baseline degeneracy. | Add orbital phase and mirror degeneracy. |
| SPADE toy model | Mode probabilities, Fisher information, crosstalk, and background. | Compare different PSFs or centroid errors. |
| Type Ia distance | Angular radius, velocity, explosion time, and distance posterior. | Add asymmetry or a velocity gradient. |
| False-alarm analysis | Poisson tails, trial factor, and global significance. | Use a real or simulated search grid. |