Graduate Courses: 2009-2010

Courses preceded by an asterik are required for first year graduate students.

Schedule

2009 - 2010 : Autumn Winter Spring

AUTUMN, 2009 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30100	Stars	1:30pm-2:50pm Tue, Thu AAC 107	Donald Q. Lamb
*ASTR 30500	Radiative Processes in Astrophysics	12:00pm-1:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 107	Fausto Cattaneo
ASTR 30900	Research Project Seminar	1:30pm-4:20pm Mon AAC 107	Kyle M. Cudworth
ASTR 40100	Practical Data Analysis	9:00pm-12:00pm Wed ARR	Clement Pryke
ASTR 40700	AstroPolitics	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Wed AAC 123	Michael S. Turner
ASTR 40800	The Perturbed Universe	1:30pm-2:50pm Wed, Fri AAC 107	Wayne Hu

WINTER, 2010 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30200	Astrophysics II	3:00pm-4:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Alexei Khokhlov
*ASTR 30600	Radiation Measurements in Astrophysics	1:30pm-2:50pm Tue, Thu AAC 107	Edward J. Kibblewhite
ASTR 31500	Dynamics I (Fluids)	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Wed AAC 107	Andrey V. Kravtsov
ASTR 36100	Interstellar Medium	12:00pm-1:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Doyal ''Al'' Harper
ASTR 37100	Pre-Candidacy Research	ARR	Kyle M. Cudworth
ASTR 39900	Reading/Research in Astrophysics	ARR	Kyle M. Cudworth
ASTR 40900	Topics in Observational Cosmology	1:30pm-2:50pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Stephen M. Kent
ASTR 45300	Computational Cosmology	ARR	Andrey V. Kravtsov
ASTR 48000	Current Topics in Astrophysics (Graduate)	12:00pm-1:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 123	Craig Hogan; Dan Hooper
ASTR 48000	Current Topics in Astrophysics (Graduate)	3:00pm-4:20pm Mon, Fri AAC 123	Hsiao-Wen Chen
ASTR 49400	Postcandidacy Research in Astrophysics	ARR	Kyle M. Cudworth

SPRING, 2010 (University Courses Catalog)

Course	Title	Time/Location	Instructor
*ASTR 30300	Interstellar Matter	1:30pm-2:50pm Wed, Fri AAC 123	Scott Dodelson
*ASTR 30400	Galaxies	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Fri AAC 123	Stephen M. Kent; Richard G. Kron
*ASTR 30400	Galaxies	3:00pm-4:20pm Tue, Fri AAC 123	Joshua A. Frieman
ASTR 30700	Preparation for Summer Research Project	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Fri AAC 123	Andrey V. Kravtsov
ASTR 33000	Computational Physics and Astrophysics	3:00pm-4:20pm Tue, Thu AAC 107	Alexei Khokhlov
ASTR 34000	Statistical Methods in Astronomy and Astrophysics	1:30pm-2:50pm Mon, Wed AAC 107	Hsiao-Wen Chen
ASTR 38000	History of the Telescope	10:30am-11:50am Mon, Wed AAC 107	Donald G. York

Courses Description

*ASTR 30100 Stars (Detailed Outline)
Introduction to stars (physical and observational), hydrodynamics of self-gravitating fluids, statistical mechanics and equations of state, energy transport, astrophysical nuclear reactions, stellar models, advanced topics.

*ASTR 30200 Astrophysics II (Detailed Outline)
Star formation, main sequence evolution, post-main sequence evolution, degenerate stars, and supernovae.

*ASTR 30300 Interstellar Matter (Detailed Outline)
Interstellar medium, collisionless systems, distribution of stars in the solar neighborhood, stellar kinematics/dynamics, observations of galactic large-scale structure, theory of galactic structure and evolution.

*ASTR 30400 Galaxies (Detailed Outline)
The observed universe, the universe at high redshift, early universe microwave background radiation, relativistic homogeneous isotropic cosmologies, evolution of structure in the universe, primordial nucleosynthesis.

*ASTR 30500 Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (Detailed Outline)
Fundamentals of radiative transfer, theory of stellar atmospheres, basic theory of radiation fields, continuum emission processes, atomic and molecular emission, plasma effects.

*ASTR 30600 Radiation Measurements in Astrophysics (Detailed Outline)
Radiation as a random process, optical coherence, and signal analysis in spatial and temporal domains, along with the detection and measurement of radiation with astronomical instruments.

ASTR 30700 Preparation for Summer Research Project
Students work with faculty members to select their research project topic and study the published literature related to it.

ASTR 30900 Research Project Seminar
Students present a seminar series based on their summer research projects.

ASTR 31500 Dynamics I (Fluids)
Principles of hydrodynamics and hydromagnetics. Equilibrium and stability of fluid systems in astrophysics. Waves. Shocks. Turbulence.

ASTR 33000 Computational Physics and Astrophysics
Basic computational methods useful for astrophysics, supplemented by specific examples drawn primarily from astrophysics. Starting with basics (e.g., precision, errors and error analysis) and basic computational methods (differentiation, integration/quadrature, Monte Carlo, numerical linear algebra), and then discussing solution of problems posed in terms of ordinary and partial differential equations.

ASTR 34000 Statistical Methods in Astronomy and Astrophysics
An exploration of the variety of statistical methods used in modern astrophysics.

ASTR 36100 Interstellar Medium
Advanced topics in interstellar matter, depending on current forefront reseach and interest of the instructor.

ASTR 37100 Pre-Candidacy Research
Supervised research of students normally in their first two years of graduate study.

ASTR 38000 History of the Telescope
The history of the idea of telescopes, and of telescopes as working devices, is covered. Following a short discussion of the ideas of "seeing at a distance" in the pre-telescopic world, Galileo's astronomical discoveries are noted. The evolution of the telescope through the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are then described. The key developments in telescope systems in each century are highlighted. These include optics, platforms and clocks, structures, rockets, computers, instruments, detectors and observatory sites. The roles of amateur astronomers, wealthy patrons, wealthy entrepreneurs and governments in bringing about these developments are emphasized, and the impact on society of the discoveries made with telescopes is outlined. Serendipitous discovery, personal stories of the main actors on the stage and the feedback between the development of modern civilization and the tools of astronomy are features of the story.

ASTR 39900 Reading/Research in Astrophysics

ASTR 40100 Practical Data Analysis

ASTR 40700 AstroPolitics

ASTR 40800 The Perturbed Universe

ASTR 40900 Topics in Observational Cosmology
Specialized problems in the field, depending on current forefront areas and interest of the instructor. A recent offering discussed the requirements for the Dark Energy Survey in its early planning stages.

ASTR 45300 Computational Cosmology

ASTR 48000 Current Topics in Astrophysics (Graduate)

ASTR 49400 Postcandidacy Research in Astrophysics

Graduate Courses Archive

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