Topics in Astrophysics. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours

Catalog description

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Topics may include the following: Topic 1: Stellar Astrophysics. Advanced discussion of one or more topics from: stellar structure, physics of accretion disks, physics of star formation and the interstellar medium, structure of collapsed stars and supernova remnants, radiative transport and photoionization. Topic 2: Galactic and Extragalactic Astrophysics. Density wave theory and structure of spiral galaxies. Active galaxies, clusters of galaxies, large-scale structure. Topic 3: Cosmology. Basics of general relativity. The cosmological principle and Friedmann models, thermal history of the universe, structure formation, the cosmic microwave background, baryonic structures formation, dark matter and dark energy, particle physics and the early universe, inflationary cosmology. Topic 4: Astrobiology. Conditions necessary for life, extra-solar planets, discovery strategies and techniques for extrasolar planets and results to date. Basic stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis impacts on development of life on Earth. Topic 5: Astrophysics Fluid Dynamics. Lagrangian, Eulerian, and smooth-particle formulations, rotation, vorticity, circulations, convection, magnetohydrodynamics, shocks, stellar rotation, photon fluid dynamics, relativistic fluids, mass transfer. This course has Differential Tuition. Course Fee: GS01 $90.