Galactic Structure and Stellar Dynamics

Catalog description

This course will focus on topics related to the structure and dynamics of collisionless and mildly collisional systems in galaxies: stars in the galactic disk, stars in globular clusters, stars in open clusters, spiral arms, and the galactic center, as well as stars in binary and triple systems. We shall also discuss the formation, structure and evolution of the galaxy and its halo. There are no specific prerequisites for this course, but knowledge of classical mechanics at the level of Physics 3318 or AEP 3330 and practical familiarity with differential equations and linear algebra at the level of MATH 2940 will be assumed. Students should be aware of the existence of the objects mentioned in the course description.