COURSE OUTLINE by Date, with Links
and Notes
Sept. 17: Introduction and Overview
Stars in the Context of
Structure
Formation and
Nucleosynthesis in
the Universe - the
first stars.
Observational Quantities and Methods: Dynamics,
Seismology, &
Spectroscopy -
the
HR Diagram.
Explore the
HIPPARCOS mission homepage: The Hyades cluster
in 3-D (including an mpeg movie).
Build a Galaxy -
combine
the optical spectra of stars representative of galactic stellar populations
to synthesize a spectrum of a galaxy.
Sept. 19: Thermodynamic Properties of the Stellar Interior
The Ideal Gas with Radiation; The Ionized Real Gas
Degenerate Matter
paper on generalized Fermi-Dirac functions
by Gong et al.(2001)
paper on the modern Equation of
State for astrophysical plasmas by
Rogers et al. (1996).
Sept. 24:
The Equation of State/Crystallization/Neutronization
TUESDAY Journal Club: "The Problem of the Pleiades Distance" by Stello and
Nissen (A&A, 374, 105, 2001),
reviewed by Jenny Greene and Joseph Gelfand.
Sept. 26: Nuclear Processes and Burning Stages
Basic Nuclear Physics; Nuclear Reactions
modern energy generation
code
by Bahcall & Pinsonneault (1996) for any main seq. star.
neutrino spectra (J.Bahcall):
spectra (
CNO, and
8B).
paper on nuclear cross sections for the solar
model by
Adelberger et al.(1998).
PROBLEM Set 1: due Oct. 3rd.
Oct. 1: Burning Stages
TUESDAY Journal Club: "The r-Process and Chronometers" by Cowan et al.
(astro-ph/0204294);
see also the recent work by Johnson & Bolte on
"The r-Process in the Early Galaxy" (astro-ph/0208375) and by Otsuki et al. on
"Cosmochronology and the universality of the r-process abundances"
(astro-ph/0207596),
reviewed by James Battat & Dan Marrone.