Course Information -> Course Structure
Course Structure This
course will be an exploration of current topics in astrophysics that can be
addressed with an assumed student background of first year physics and first
year calculus. The issues will be explored both from a theoretical and
observational point of view and the chosen topics will tie in somewhat to
actual astrophysical research being done at the UO.
There will be no assigned text book. However, there are two copies of
Modern Astrophysics (Carroll and Ostli) available for
daily loan from the TA Science
Library. This book is also available to buy (from Amazon.com)
but its horribly overpriced and you won't really need it.
Bi-Weekly problem sets will be assigned. While some of these problems may be
standard cookbook physics problems in an astrophysics context, other problems
will involve the use of real data and will require data analysis.
Lectures will be a mix of computer based presentations and standard
blackboard lectures and derivations. Extensive notes for each lecture
will appear on this blackboard course web site:
Course Grading will occur around the following guidelines:
- Homework Assignments: 30%
- Midterm Exam: 30%
- Final Exam: 40%
|
Course Content
The first half of this course will be related to the structure of stars
and their evolution. We will focus on topics such as:
- The Observational Characterization of Stellar Evolution
- Stellar structure and stability
- Energy generation in Stellar Cores
- Degenerate Matter in Stellar Remnants
- Supernova
The second half of the course will focus on more cosmological issues
such as dark matter and dark energy as well as the standard big bang
model. Topics will include:
- The observational foundation of the big bang model
- The Cosmological Redshift and Space-Time
- The thermal history of the universe from the particle physics
point of view
- The evidence for dark matter
- The evidence for dark energy
Individual weekly topics are accessed in the course
documents area.
|