ASTR 300B      Radiation & Matter

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MWF 2-3 SO 208
Spring 2019

Dr. Yancy Shirley
office : N310
phone: (520) 626-3666
email: yshirley
Office Hours: Tu/Th 10-12 + Open Door

credit: Adam Block/Mnt Lemmon Sky Center

Class Syllabus

      ASTR 300B is a class studying the physical processes that emit, absorb, and scatter light in the context of the physics of the interstellar medium. In this class you will learn radiative transfer in one dimension, learn the fundamental physics of thermal and non-thermal emission processes in the interstellar medium, and learn the basics of atomic and molecular spectroscopy. Topic we shall cover in this class include: continuum emission processes due to dust emission and absorption, free-free emission, and synchrotron emission; atomic ionization and recombination and electronic bound-bound transitions; statistical mechanics (Boltzmann Equation) and equilibrium; and molecular rotational, vibrational, and electronic transitions. It is expected that you have completed or are currently taking PHYS 331 (E&M I) and PHYS 371 (Quantum Mechanics I). The two reference textbooks for the course are Astrophysics – Decoding the Cosmos by Judith A. Irwin and Physics of the Interstellar and Intergalactic Medium by Bruce Draine. Both books are available as e-books.

           

CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Homework Topic Reading/References
W Jan 09 ISM Overview Draine Ch. 1
(slides) (REU Search)
F Jan 11 Homework 1 Specific Intensity, Flux Density, & Flux Irwin 1.1-1.3
(board)
M Jan 14 Homework 2 Emergent Flux Density Irwin 1.6
(slides) (board)
W Jan 16 Homework 3 Energy Density Irwin 1.4
(board)
F Jan 18 Homework 4,5 Blackbody Radiation Irwin Ch. 4
Integrate Planck
Riemann Zeta Video
(board)
M Jan 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO CLASS
W Jan 23 Homework 6,7 1D Radiative Transfer Irwin Ch. 6
(board)
F Jan 25 Homework 8 Limits of Radiative Transfer Equation Draine Ch 7.1,7.2,7.4
(board)
M Jan 28 Homework 9,10 Optical Depth Irwin 5.4.1 (see Table 5.1)
(board)
W Jan 30 Dust Properties & Composition Irwin Ch. 3.5, Draine 23.1-23.5
(slides)
F Feb 01 Homework 11 Dust Absorption Irwin Ch. 5.5, Draine 22.1-22.2
(slides) (board)
M Feb 04 Homework 12,13 Extinction Laws Draine 21.1-21.2
(slides) (board)
W Feb 06 Homework 14 Dust Emission
(slides) (board)
F Feb 08 Homework 15 Dust Mass
M Feb 11 Homework 16 Dust Temperature Draine Ch. 24
(slides) (board)
W Feb 13 Homework 17 Dust SEDs
(slides)
M Feb 18 Thermal Free-free Emission Irwin Ch 8.1-8.2
(slides) (board)
W Feb 20 Homework 18 Free-free SEDs Draine 10.1-10.5
F Feb 22 Homework 19 Synchrotron Irwin Ch 8.5-8.6
(slides) (board)
M Feb 25 Homework 20,21 Photoionization & Recombination Irwin Ch 5.2, Ch 9.4.1-9.4.2
(slides) (board)
W Feb 27 Homework 22 HII Regions
F Mar 01 NO CLASS
SPRING BREAK NO CLASS
SPRING BREAK NO CLASS
SPRING BREAK NO CLASS
M Mar 11 Homework 23 Hydrogen Atom Bound-Bound Transitions Irwin Appendix C
Atomic Transition Probabilities
(slides) (board)
W Mar 13 Hydrogen Recombination Spectrum Draine 14.2 - 14.2.3
(slides) (board)
F Mar 15 Boltzmann Equation Irwin Ch 3.4.4-3.4.5
Boltzmann Distribution
Derivation of Milne Relation
(board)
M Mar 18 Homework 24,25 Bound-bound Transitions Irwin Ch 9.1 & 9.4
(board)
W Mar 20 Homework 26,27 Einstein Coefficients Draine Ch 6.1-6.3
(board)
F Mar 22 Homework 28,29 Collisional Excitation Irwin Ch. 3.4.1
Draine Ch 17.1 - 17.4
Leiden Database
(slides) (board)
M Mar 25 Homework 30 Spectral Line Transitions Draine Ch. 7.3-7.5, 8.1-8.2
(slides) (board) (board)
W Mar 27 In-class problem
F Mar 29 NO CLASS
M Apr 01 Homework 31 Recombination Line Emissivity
W Apr 03 Homework 32 Absorption Lines Draine Ch. 9.1
(board) (slides)
F Apr 05 (Advanced Topic) Escape Fraction Draine Ch. 19.1-19.2
(board) (slides)
M Apr 08 Homework 33 Molecular Spectroscopy - Rotational Transitions Vemuliapalli Ch 15.2-15.4
JPL Line Catalog
(board) (slides)
W Apr 10 Homework 34 Molecular Spectroscopy - Ro-vibrational Transitions Vemuliapalli Ch 16.1 - 16.2
(board) (slides)
F Apr 12 Homework 35 Addition of Quantized Angular Momentum Atkins Ch 4.9-4.10
(board) (slides)
M Apr 15 NO CLASS
W Apr 17 Homework 36 Atomic Spectroscopy - Terms Draine Ch. 4
(board) (slides)
F Apr 19 Homework 37 Atomic Spectroscopy - Term Schemes Morrison,Estle,Lane Ch 9.3-9.7
(board) (slides)
M Apr 22 Homework 38 Hund's Rules & Parity
(board) (slides)
W Apr 24 Resonance, Semi-Forbidden, Forbidden Lines NIST Atomic Spectroscopy Database
Forbidden Line List
(slides)
F Apr 26 (Advanced Topic) HII Forbidden Line Diagnostics
(board) (slides)
M Apr 29 (Advanced Topic) Ammonia Temperature
(board) (slides)
W May 01 NO CLASS
F May 3 FINAL EXAM 1-3pm Open note/book
Final Exam Info