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Course Description
This course addresses a range of topics, including:
Size and Time Scales
Historical Astronomy
Astronomical Instrumentation
Stars
Stellar Structure Equations and Survey of Stellar Evolution
Stellar Oscillations
Degenerate and Collapsed Stars
Interacting Binary Systems
Accretion Disks
X-ray Sources
Gravitational Lenses
Interstellar Medium
HII Regions
Supernova Remnants
Molecular Clouds
Dust
Radiative Transfer
Jeans' Mass
Star Formation
High-energy Astrophysics
Compton Scattering
Bremsstrahlung
Synchrotron Radiation
Cosmic Rays
Galactic Stellar Distributions and Populations
Oort Constants
Oort Limit
Globular Clusters
Textbooks
Hansen, Carl J., Steven D. Kawaler, and Virginia Trimble. Stellar Interiors: Physical Principles, Structure and Evolution. New York, NY: Springer, 2004. ISBN: 9780387200897.
Carroll, Bradley W., and Dale A. Ostlie. An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1995. ISBN: 9780201547306.
Kippenhahn, Rudolf, and Alfred Weigert. Stellar Structure and Evolution. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1990. ISBN: 9780387502113.
Shapiro, Stuart L., and Saul A. Teukolsky. Black Holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars. New York, NY: Wiley, 1983. ISBN: 9780471873167.
Prerequisites
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (8.044), Quantum Mechanics II (8.05), or permission of the instructor.
Grading Policy
Grading criterion.ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
---|
Problem Sets | 30% |
Midterm Exam | 30% |
Final Exam | 40% |