Astrophysics - Imperial College London [PDF]

Aims: This course will cover a variety of important topics in modern astrophysics, and is intended to complement 'Sun, S

6 downloads 3 Views 105KB Size

Recommend Stories


Untitled - Imperial College London
Come let us be friends for once. Let us make life easy on us. Let us be loved ones and lovers. The earth

Dr. Matthew Hodes, Imperial College London Position
Pretending to not be afraid is as good as actually not being afraid. David Letterman

Senior Lecturer Experimental Geotechnics, Imperial College London
Why complain about yesterday, when you can make a better tomorrow by making the most of today? Anon

Imperial College
It always seems impossible until it is done. Nelson Mandela

Imperial College Healthcare
Be who you needed when you were younger. Anonymous

Imperial College London Shaping a Spacetime from Causal Structure
Ask yourself: What am I most thankful for? Next

Imperial College London MSc EXAMINATION May 2014 BLACK HOLES
Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation. Rumi

Constitution of Imperial College Union.pdf
You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Andrè Gide

Imperial College Union Media Group
Ask yourself: When was the last time you did something that you were afraid of? Next

King's College London
The only limits you see are the ones you impose on yourself. Dr. Wayne Dyer

Idea Transcript


Astrophysics Lecturers: Prof. Kirpal (Paul) Nandra ([email protected]) Dr. Subhanjoy (Subu) Mohanty ([email protected]) Office Hours: K. Nandra Weds: 11am, 1011 Blackett; S. Mohanty Tues: 11am, 1010 Blackett The course consists of 26 lectures with a revision lecture in the summer term. 6 problem sheets will be distributed during the course.

Aims: This course will cover a variety of important topics in modern astrophysics, and is intended to complement ‘Sun, Stars & Planets’ (level 2) and ‘Cosmology’ (level 4). Its aims are to introduce: the physics of compact objects (e.g. black holes, neutron stars, white and brown dwarfs) and the basics of accretion theory; the phenomenology of galaxies, including Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN); observational evidence for dark matter gravitational lensing; the basics of radiative transfer; the nature of the interstellar medium; the processes by which stars and planets form from the ISM and the death of stars, including supernova explosions.

Objectives: • Compact Objects (Nandra) o o o o o

Characterise the different end stages of stellar evolution Be familiar with the concept of electron degeneracy Derive the mass-radius relation and calculate mass limits for white dwarfs and neutron stars Explain how black holes are defined in general relativity, and describe some of the observational consequences of the existence of black holes Appreciate the importance of accretion in astrophysics and derive the Eddington limit and luminosity and temperature profile of an accretion disk

• Galaxies and Dark Matter (Nandra) o o o o o o o

Have an appreciation of the length scales and matter content of the Universe; Know basic observational properties of spiral and elliptical galaxies Describe the basic physical properties important in the central regions of active galactic nuclei, and appreciate their wider importance in the universe Explain how the distribution of dark matter can be inferred from observed galaxy rotation curves; show that dark matter is not concentrated in the disk of the Milky Way Derive the scalar virial theorem and apply it to illustrate the need for dark matter from observations of the stellar velocity dispersion Explain the evidence for dark matter from the X-ray observations of galaxy clusters Understand the principle of gravitational lensing, quote the lens equation and solve for simple lensing scenarios; appreciate image parity and magnification

• The Interstellar Medium (Mohanty) o o o o

Summarize the overall distribution of gas, dust and stars in our Galaxy Understand the basic concepts of radiative transfer physics – how photons interact with matter – which allow us to study the ISM and stars; be able to solve the equation of radiative transfer in simple limiting cases Describe the main components of the ISM; Explain qualitatively the formation of absorption and emission lines in these components; and understand what these lines imply about the conditions in these components

• The Birth and Death of Stars (Mohanty) o

o o o o

Summarize the overall picture of how stars form out of the ISM; explain the idea of Jeans mass; understand the concepts of gravitational collapse and fragmentation; qualitatively explain the processes in the simplified picture of a collapsing isothermal sphere Understand why accretion disks form around young stars and their basic physical processes, leading to the formation of planets Explain qualitatively some of the problems with the above picture of star and planet formation, with evidence from low-mass stars and brown dwarfs; explain some of the solutions; Understand some of the fundamental physical processes in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs, and what implications they have for both formation and the characterization of extra-solar giant planets. Summarize the nuclear processes in the end-stages of stars (especially massive ones); describe the primary features of, and differences between, the 2 main types of supernovae

Textbooks The course textbook is: An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, B. W. Carroll & D. A. Ostlie, Addison Wesley, 2nd edition, 2006, ISBN: 0321442849. First edition should also be fine for the course, and also cheaper. Another useful general-purpose book is: Introductory Astronomy & Astrophysics 4th edition, M. Zeilik & S. A. Gregory, Saunders College Publishing More detailed texts on specific topics include: 1. The Stars: their structure and evolution, R. J. Tayler, CUP, 2nd edition Basic text of stellar structure. 2. The Physics of Stars, A. C. Phillips, John Wiley & Sons, 2nd edition Slightly more detailed than Tayler’s book. 3. Accretion Power in Astrophysics, J. Frank, A. King & D.J. Raine, CUP, 3rd edition Good for compact objects and accretion theory

Smile Life

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile

Get in touch

© Copyright 2015 - 2024 PDFFOX.COM - All rights reserved.