Special Topics Courses (Astronomy 278 Series)
The (Special Topics) courses are not part of the Core curriculum, and it is not required that they be taken at all of the times indicated. However, Ph.D. students are required to take at least one of them per year during their first two years in the program, and at least three such courses altogether. The format of the Special Topics courses is at the discretion of the instructor. The unit value of Special Topics courses is variable, from 2 to 4, depending on the planned degree of the student's participation (i.e., 4 units might imply a 2-hour seminar presentation, or a formal, graded, final examination). The Department guarantees that at least two special topics courses be offered each year, and that a given topic be offered no more often than every other year. The topics will be chosen the previous year, on the basis of a combination of programmatic needs, faculty and student interest, and faculty expertise. Some would probably involve faculty currently in the Physics Department.
Examples of titles for Astronomy 278: Special Topics courses: Astrophysical Disks Numerical Methods Post-AGB Stars and Planetary Nebulae Neutrino Astronomy Dense Stellar Systems Star Formation Helio- and Astroseismology Inflation Topics in Plasma Astrophysics Dark Matter Techniques of Deconvolution Interferometry Techniques of Infrared Astronomy Astrochemistry Structure Formation in the Early Universe
PHYSICS 211: QUANTUM MECHANICS (Applications Emphasis)
Foundations of Quantum Mechanics Measurements Uncertainty Principles Diagonalizing Commuting Operators Linear Vector Spaces Dynamics Heisenberg and Schrodinger Pictures Harmonic Oscillator, application to molecular vibrations Angular Momentum Spherically Symmetric Potentials Hydrogen-Like atoms; the Kepler Problem in QM Angular Momentum Algebra, Clebsch-Gordan Coefficient Bound States/Perturbation Theory Born Expansion Spin-Orbit Coupling Magnetic Moment of the Electron Fine and Hyperfine Structure Helium Atom
ASTRONOMY 270: FUNDAMENTALS I. .(Fluids and Dynamics)
Gas Dynamics -- Basic Equations, 1-D Shocks Spherically Symmetric Flows -- Winds and Accretion Jeans' Instability Virial Theorem Stellar Dynamics -- Basic Equations Timescales: Relaxation, Core Collapse, Gravothermal Instabilities
ASTRONOMY 271: FUNDAMENTALS II. (Radiation)
Prerequisite: one quarter of graduate quantum mechanics (either Physics 221A or the newly proposed Physics 211).
Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory:
Quantization of the electromagnetic field
Creation and Destruction Operators
Radiation Definitions, Transfer Equation, Source Functions
Einstein Coefficients, Stimulated Emission, Lines (Radio to g-ray)
and Continua
Molecular and Atomic Spectra
Simple Solutions to Transfer Equation - 21-cm Emission and Absorption in
the Interstellar Medium,
Interstellar Absorption Lines
Interstellar Emission - Optical Forbidden Lines, Radio to X-ray
Emission Lines, Masers
Free-free and bound-free emission/absorption; Recombination
Spectrum; Dust
Rayleigh Scattering, Polarized Light
Synchrotron Emission, Compton Scattering, Thomson Scattering
ASTRONOMY 274: GALAXIES
Ellipticals-Prolate/Oblate/Triaxial, Velocity Dispersions Spiral Structure, Tully-Fisher Morphology and ISM of Galaxies King Models Stellar Populations and Evolution Galaxy Clusters and the Intracluster Medium, Mass Estimates Galaxy Formation, Collisions and Mergers Observational Properties of AGNs, Quasars, Blazars, Radiogalaxies Jets, Accretion Models
ASTRONOMY 272: STELLAR STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION
Observational Overview--Temperatures, Radii, Masses, Fluxes, Distances Basic Equations of Stellar Structure; Polytropes Energy Sources, Nuclear Reaction Sequences and Nucleosynthesis Star Formation and Pre-main Sequence Evolution Main Sequence Models; Diagnosis of the Solar Interior Post-Main Sequence Evolution, Stellar Pulsations, Instabilities, & Mass Loss White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars Supernovae, Pulsars Mass Transfer Binary Star Systems, Cataclysmics, Algols
ASTRONOMY 273: STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
Plane Parallel Atmosphere; Source Functions Eddington Approximation Non-Grey Model Atmosphere, Equation of state for mixtures Stellar Opacity sources and their dependence on spectral type Spectral Energy Distributions, diagnostics of gravity, temperature and abundances; Line Blanketing Stellar line formation; Line profiles; Curve of Growth Simple optically thick non-LTE environments Chromospheres; Extended and Expanding Atmospheres Sobolev Approximation Cool star atmospheres: red giants and brown dwarfs
ASTRONOMY 275: COSMOLOGY
Basic Metrics for the Universe Observational Measurements of the Hubble Constant and qo Thermodynamics in the Expanding Universe, the Microwave Background Mass in Galaxies Clusters and the Intergalactic Medium Large-Scale Structure and the Correlation Function Nucleosynthesis in the Hot Big Bang Inflationary Models Dark Matter Models for the Growth of Structure in the Universe
ASTRONOMY 276: INSTRUMENTATION AND OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUES
Various Types of Telescopes; Optics Cameras and Spectrographs Optical Detectors, Photomultipliers, CCD's Infrared Detectors and Arrays Radio Detectors X-ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors Interferometry Generalities of Data Analysis Techniques Statistical Inference and Significance
Roster of Instructors
Fund. I. Fluids & Dynamics --Jura, Coroniti, Morris Fund. II. Radiation --Jura, Coroniti, Wright, Morris, Turner Galaxies --Becklin, Malkan, Turner, Wright Atmospheres --Plavec*, Ulrich, Aller*, Ghez Interiors --Plavec*, Ulrich, Wright, Morris Cosmology --Malkan, Wright, Cline, Gelmini Instrumentation --McLean, Turner, Ghez * Emeritus