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Fundamental Astronomy - ASTR 503

Lectures for the Fundamental Astronomy PhD course at NMSU.

Syllabus

The video links below are playlists to the video lectures for each module. The content of each class is listed, along with the pdf of the lecture notes.

  • Module 1: Spherical Astronomy


    Class Notes for Module 1

    • Class 01 : Celestial Sphere: Definitions and coordinates: equatorial, horizontal, ecliptic, hour, galactic.

    • Class 02 : Spherical Trigonometry: Spherical triangle, fundamental law of cosines, polar triangle, law of sines, Gauss groups.

    • Class 03 : Coordinate Conversion, coordinates of the Sun, astronomical time and longitude.

  • Module 2: Distances and Brightness


    Class Notes for Module 2

    • Class 04 : Parallax, magnitudes, flux, luminosity.
    • Class 05 : Annual parallax, proper motion, geocentric parallax.

  • Module 3: Kepler Laws


    Class Notes for Module 3

    • Class 06 : Kepler's 1st law, orbital elements
    • Class 07 : Kepler's 2nd and 3rd law.

  • Module 4: Celestial Mechanics


    Class Notes for Module 4

    • Class 08 : Universal gravitational, Kepler from Newton, constants of motion.
    • Class 09 : Orbital elements and physical parameters, unbound orbits, effective potential.
    • Class 10 : Barycentric orbits, perturbed orbits.
    • Class 11 : Orbital drag, precession, three body problem.

  • Module 5: Radiative Transfer


    Class Notes for Module 5

    • Class 12 : Intensity, Flux, Stefan-Boltzmann law, Wien displacement law.
    • Class 13 : Kirchhoff's laws, absorption and emission, RT equation, optical depth.
    • Class 14 : Optically thin and thick limits, Kirchhoff's laws from the RT equation, Bremsstrahlung.
    • Class 15 : Einstein coefficients, source function, scattering.

  • Module 6: Stellar Atmospheres


    Class Notes for Module 6, 7 and 8

    • Class 16 : Plane-parallel approximation, radiative equilibrium, radiation pressure.
    • Class 17 : Grey approximation, Eddington solution.
    • Class 18 : Spectral types, excitation and ionization equilibrium, Saha equation.

  • Module 7: Stellar Structure

    • Class 19 : Equations of Stellar Structure, solution for constant density star, stellar binding energy, accretion luminosity.
    • Class 20 : Rossland approximation, Rossland and Planck mean opacities.
    • (needs to be put in extra class) : convection, Lane-Emden equation.

  • Module 8: Stellar Evolution

    • Class 21 : Stellar lifetimes, nuclear fusion, Gamov peak, burning rates, p-p chain, CNO cycle.
    • Class 22 : Subgiant branch, red giant branch, degeneracy, helium flash, horizontal branch, AGB stars.
    • Class 23 : White dwarfs, Chandrashekhar limit, evolution of high mass stars.

  • Module 9: Galaxies

    • Class 24 : Stellar populations, galactic structure, rotation curves, dark matter, local standard of rest.
    • Class 25 : Oort diagram, Oort's first and second equation and constants.
    • Class 26 : Supermassive black holes, black hole accretion, AGN luminosity and Eddington limit.

  • Module 10: Cosmology


    Class Notes for Module 10

    • Class 27 : Cosmological principle, Hubble's law, scale factor, redshift, Friedmann's equation, solution for empty universe.
    • Class 28 : Critical density, Big Bang, solution for flat universe, Fluid equation, Equation of state, universe with dust and radiation.
    • Class 29 : Acceleration equation, dark energy, ΛCMD universe.

Course bibliography

  • An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, Carroll & Ostlie
  • Stellar Interiors, Hansen & Kawaler
  • Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics, Erika Bohm-Vitense
  • Radiative Processes in Astrophysics, Rybicki & Lightman
  • Astrophysics for Physicists, Choudhuri
  • Planetary Sciences, De Pater & Lissauer
  • Solar System Dynamics, Murray & Dermott
  • Physics of Substellar Objects, Guillot
  • The Physics of Fluids and Plasmas, Choudhuri
  • Foundations of Astrophysics, Ryden & Peterson
  • Galactic Dynamics, Binney & Tremaine