January 2005
Tuesday January 18: Introduction (Shu: Chap 1 & 2) Logistics: schedule, requirements, contact. Advantages of space. Unsolved Problems. History. Jargon. Archives. Problem Set 1 (DUE DATE: JAN 27) Thursday January 20: Inauguration Day - No class Tuesday January 25: Discussion Thursday January 27: Physical Processes (chap 3 & 4). Gravity; electromagnetic processes; continuum and line radiation. Magnetic fields. Problem Set 2. (DUE DATE: Thurs, FEB 3) PROBLEM SET 1 DUE.February
Tuesday February 1: Discussion Thursday February 3: Instrumentation (handout) Counters. Imaging Systems. Coded masks. CCDs, gratings and calorimeters. Interferometry and polarization. Current and future observatories. Problem Set 3 (DUE DATE: Thurs, Feb 10) PROBLEM SET 2 DUE Tuesday February 8: Discussion; Gravity Waves Thursday February 10: Data Reduction and Analysis (handout) Curve fitting and data modeling. Data analysis packages. Reduction and analysis of astronomical data. Sources of error and uncertainty. PROBLEM SET 3 (Instrumentation) DUE. Tuesday February 15: Discussion Completion of Data Analysis Lecture. Problem Set 4 (DUE DATE: Thurs, March 3) Thursday February 17: Stars (chap 5 & 6) Observable properties of stars: luminosities, temperatures, stellar line and continuum spectra. Methods of stellar classification and the magnitude scale. Measurement of stellar distances, absolute brightnesses, sizes and mass. The observational Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The Sun. Solar atmospheric structure and interior structure. Energy generation. Stellar dynamos and coronae. Tuesday February 22: Discussion Thursday February 24: Stellar formation & evolution (Chap 8 & 10) CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS Star formation, theories and observations. Angular momentum dissipation, and radiation pressure. Post-main-sequence evolution in low and high mass stars: nuclear processing; giants and supergiants; instabilities; planetary nebula; Wolf-Rayet stars and luminous blue variables; endproducts of stellar evolution. Explosions.March
Tuesday March 1: Discussion Thursday March 3: Neutron Stars (chap 8 & 7) Lecturer: Dr. Samar Safi-Harb Evolution of Binary stars. Accretion. Nova types. Electromagnetic and gravitational radiation. PROBLEM SET 5 (DATE DUE: March 10) Tuesday March 8: Discussion Thursday March 10: Midterm Format: choose 5 out of 8 short answer questions. The test will be open book/open notes Material: All material covered up through last nights (Mar 3) lecture. This will include a question on the stellar evolution lecture which was to have been given on February 24. Please look at the lecture notes at http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/outreach/GWU_Space_Astrophysics/Spring05/lectures/lecture6_stars2.pdf and the reading assignment included with problem set 5 - see http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/outreach/GWU_Space_Astrophysics/Spring05/problem_sets/ps5/ps5.html Allowed Material: You can bring in handwritten notes and your copy of Shu, and a calculator. Please contact me if there are any problems or questions. I should be at class Tuesday for any last-minute questions. Tuesday March 15: Spring Recess Thursday March 17: Spring Recess Tuesday March 22: Discussion PROBLEM SET 6 (Due Thursday March 31) Thursday March 24:Supernovae and Supernovae Remnants (chap 6 & 7) Supernova types. Energy equations. Evolution of the remnant. Interactions with the ISM. Nucleosynthesis. Hypernova and "failed supernovae". Difficulties with simulations. Tuesday March 29: Discussion Thursday March 31: Neutron Stars and Black Holes (chap 7) Extreme gravitational collapse. Event horizons, Hawking radiation. Observable properties. Mass classifications. Environments. PROBLEM SET 7 (Due Tuesday April 12)April
Tuesday April 5: Discussion Thursday April 7: GRBs See the lecture series Gamma Ray Bursts and their Afterglows (March 15-19, 1999) Listen to talks by: Martin Rees "Intro. theor. Overview of GRB & Afterglows" Kevin Hurley "Intro. Obs. Overview of Afterglows" Discovery of Gamma-Ray Bursts. Theories and models. Fireball Model. Collapsars and hypernovae. Observational history, contributions of BATSE, BeppoSAX and Swift. Tuesday April 12: Discussion Thursday April 14:Normal Galaxies & Populations (chap 11 & 12) Morphological types. Contents. Exploration of the Milky Way. Galaxy formation and evolution. Tuesday April 19: Origin of The Elements Big-Bang nucleosynthesis; nuclear reactions; radiation and matter eras; stellar nucleosynthesis; abundances Thursday April 21:Active Galaxies (chap 13) Starburst activity. Radio-loud and radio quiet activity. The Nucleus. Quasars and micro-quasars. Classifications. The Unified Model. High energy processes. Tuesday April 26: The Scale of the Universe PROBLEM SET 8 (Due Thursday May 5) Thursday April 28:Galaxy Clusters (Chap 14, 15 & 16) Structure of the Universe. Formation scenarios. Background radiation.May
Tuesday May 3: Discussion: Important Principles Thursday May 5: Cosmology, Dark Matter and Energy (handout) Age of the Universe. The Cosmological Constant. COBE and WMAP. Cosmological models. Supernovae and the accelerating Universe. Tuesday May 10: Exam Period Thursday May 12: Final Exam: 5:20-7:20pm, Sam 311
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