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 Mathematical and Physical Foundations–Data analysis for event tables should usually remain in place, because the later science cases rely on event tables, coherence functions, instrumental errors, and correlators.

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.

Weeks 1–5: Foundations and Instruments

Week	Reading	Class focus	Assignment
1	Chapter Mathematical and Physical Foundations	Event tables, observables, units, and orders of magnitude.	Generate a light curve and one simple statistic from the same event table.
2	Chapters Why quantum astronomy is needed–Foundations of quantum optics	Why mean intensity is not enough; common optical states.	Compare count statistics for thermal and coherent light.
3	Chapter Photon statistics and coherence functions	\(g^{(1)}\), \(g^{(2)}\), the Siegert relation, and multimode dilution.	Plot \(g^{(2)}\) contrast for different mode numbers and time bins.
4	Chapter Spatial coherence and intensity interferometry	VCZ, uniform disks, binaries, and SII signal-to-noise ratio.	Fit a simulated uniform-disk angular diameter.
5	Chapters Detectors, clocks, and event tables–Data analysis for event tables	Detectors, time synchronization, correlators, and null tests.	Write an event-table correlator and perform a time-shift check.

Weeks 6–10: Source Models and Science Questions

Week	Reading	Class focus	Assignment
6	Chapter Quantum estimation, the Rayleigh limit, and sub-resolution information	Rayleigh curse, SPADE, and Fisher information.	Compare small-separation errors for direct imaging and mode measurements.
7	Chapters The quantum language of astrophysical radiation mechanisms–Stars as quantum light sources	Radiation mechanisms, thermal-light approximation, stellar angular diameters, and binaries.	Use $
8	Chapters White dwarfs, neutron stars, and strong-field physics–Black holes, accretion disks, and photon rings	Compact objects, pulsars, black holes, and photon rings.	Design an event table that preserves phase or time-tag information.
9	Chapter Explosions, transients, and multi-messenger quantum astronomy	Transient triggers, angular expansion, and multi-messenger delays.	Build a Type Ia or nova angular-expansion toy model.
10	Chapters Propagation effects: plasma, dust, and gravitational lensing–Quantum questions in cosmology	Propagation, polarization rotation, lensing, new physics, and the CMB.	Separate one ordinary propagation term from one new-physics candidate term.

Weeks 11–14: Design, Projects, and Reporting

Week	Reading	Class focus	Assignment
11	Chapters Quantum network telescopes–Observing design, error budgets, and feasibility calculations	Quantum-network boundaries, observing design, and error budgets.	Write a one-page observing-proposal abstract.
12	Chapter First-generation quantum-astronomy science cases	Ranking first-generation science cases.	Assign readiness scores to three candidate projects.
13	Chapters Teaching experiments and computational experiments–Common pitfalls	Teaching experiments, common pitfalls, false alarms, and new-physics boundaries.	Finish project code, figures, and two null tests.
14	Chapter From white paper to research plan	From course project to proposal.	Submit the final report, code, and milestone table.

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
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.