ASTR 4010 – Astrophysics I

Professor Caillault – Fall 2007

 

Office:            237 Physics                 Office Hours:             MW 10-11 AM

Phone:            542-2883                     E-mail:                        jpc@physast.uga.edu

 

Textbook:       An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd Ed., by Carroll & Ostlie

 

Course Structure: This course will not contain much lecturing.  Instead, students will be expected to be prepared for discussions of the textbook material and to be responsible for solving the problems that have been assigned.  We will alternate discussing the material and solving homework problems during successive class periods. 

 

Homework: Problem sets for each chapter will be assigned approximately a week in advance.  The in-class homework problem-solving sessions may include any of the assigned problems, so solve all of them in order to be completely prepared.  This component of your grade (1/3) will be determined by your in-class solutions and your submitted assignments.  The assignments may be submitted individually or in groups (of any number).

 

Exams:  There will be a mid-term exam and a final exam.  Part of the exams will be in-class and part will be take-home. Each exam is worth 1/3 of your grade.

 

Grades:  Unless otherwise notified, the grading scale for the class will be as follows:

        A ≥ 90%     90% > B ≥ 80%      80% > C ≥ 70%      70% > D ≥ 60%      60% > F

 

 

Tentative Class Schedule:

DATES                                   TOPIC                                                                                               

Aug. 16                                   Intro & Binary Stars and Stellar Parameters (Chapter 7)

Aug. 21, 23                             The Classification of Stellar Spectra (Chapter 8)

Aug. 28, 30, Sep.  4                Stellar Atmospheres (Chapter 9)

Sep. 6, 11, 13, 18                    The Interiors of Stars (Chapter 10)

Sep. 20, 25, 27                        The Sun (Chapter 11)

Oct. 2, 4                                  The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation (Chapter 12)

Oct. 2 – 9                               Take-home Midterm Exam due Oct. 9, 9:30 AM

Oct. 9                                      In-class Midterm Exam (75 minutes)

Oct. 11, 16                              Main Sequence & Post-MS Stellar Evolution (Chapter 13)

Oct. 18, 23                              Stellar Pulsation (Chapter 14)

Oct. 30, Nov. 1                       The Fate of Massive Stars (Chapter 15)

Nov. 6, 8, 13                           The Degenerate Remnants of Stars (Chapter 16)

Nov. 15, 20                             General Relativity and Black Holes (Chapter 17)

Nov. 27, 29, Dec. 6                 Close Binary Star Systems (Chapter 18)

Dec. 6 – 13                             Take-home Final Exam due Dec. 13, 8:00 AM

Dec. 13                                    In-class Final Exam (8-11 AM)