Time: MWF 9:00-9:55am
Room: Cahill 219
Instructor: Jim Fuller
Units: 9 (3-0-6)
Student Level: graduate students and seniors
Textbooks:
Topics:
- Thermodynamics, equation of state, convection, opacity, radiative transfer, stellar atmospheres, nuclear reactions, and stellar models.
- Evolution of low- and high-mass stars, supernovae, and binary stars.
Grading:
- Five problem sets, each worth 10% of final grade
- Oral midterm, worth 20% of final grade
- Written, take-home final exam, worth 30% of final grade
Homework Policy:
Please attempt to solve the problems on your own before consulting other students.
You may consult books and published papers but not old homework solutions from this
or any other class. After that, discussion of hte problems with other students in
this class to improve your understanding of the underlying physics is permitted and
encouraged. However, you may not copy homework solutions.
The formal Ay101 policy is that students can freely discuss the problems, but
they need to work out solutions on their own without referring to others'
solutions.
Homework is due by 11:59 pm on the dates indicated. Limited extensions can be obtained by emailing Mia or Jim in advance. In the absence of an extension, grades are reduced by 10% for each day that the homework is late.
Class Schedule:
Reading assignments are indicated by HKT (Hansen, Kawaler, & Trimble) and KWW (Kippenhahn, Weigert, & Weiss).
- Wed Oct 2, 9:00: I. Physical properties of stars
- Fri Oct 4, 9:00: I. Physical properties of stars, continued
- Mon Oct 7, 9:00: In class activities
read HKT chs. 1-2, optionally KWW chs. 1-4
- Wed Oct 9, 9:00: II. Equilibrium and timescales
- Fri Oct 11, 9:00: III. Equations of stellar structure
read HKT chs. 4-5, optionally KWW chs. 5, 7, 17, 19
- Mon Oct 14, 9:00: In class activities; Problem set 1 due
- Wed Oct 16, 9:00: IIIb. Convection
- Fri Oct 18, 9:00: IV. Energy generation and opacity
- Mon Oct 21, 9:00: In class activities
- Wed Oct 23, 9:00: V. Homology and the main sequence
- Fri Oct 25, 9:00: VI. Equations of state
read HKT ch. 3, optionally KWW chs. 13-16
- Mon Oct 28, 9:00: In class activities; Problem set 2 due
- Wed Oct 30, 9:00: VI. Equations of state, continued
- Wed-Fri Oct 30-Nov 1: Oral midterms
- Fri Nov 1, 9:00: No class (midterms)
- Mon Nov 4, 9:00: In class activities
- Wed Nov 6, 9:00: IX. Nuclear reactions
read HKT ch. 6 and KWW ch. 18
- Fri Nov 8, 9:00: X. Abundance of elements
- Mon Nov 11, 9:00: In class activities; Problem set 3 due
- Wed Nov 13, 9:00: VIII. Pulsating stars
read HKT ch. 8, optionally KWW chs. 29, 31
- Fri Nov 15, 9:00: VII. Helioseismology
read HKT ch. 9, optionally KWW chs. 34-36
- Mon Nov 18, 9:00: In class activities
- Wed Nov 20, 9:00: XI. Supernovae and compact objects
- Fri Nov 22, 9:00: XI. Supernovae and compact objects, continued
- Mon Nov 25, 9:00: In class activities; Problem set 4 due
Problem 4, tarball or Problem 4, zipped folder
- Wed Nov 27, 9:00: XII. Stellar evolution
read KWW chs. 30-33
- Fri Nov 29, 9:00: No class (Thanksgiving)
- Mon Dec 2, 9:00: In class activities
- Wed Dec 4, 9:00: XIII. Binary Stars
- Fri Dec 6, 9:00: XIV. Stellar atmospheres
- Mon Dec 9: No class (study period); Problem set 5 due
Problem 3, solspec.txt, growth.txt
- Fri Dec 13: Final Exam due by 5:00 pm