ASTR-5120, Fall 2021

Instructor:	Steven R. Cranmer   (email, web page)
Instructor's Office:	Duane Physics D111 (main campus), LASP/SPSC N218 (east campus)
Course Times:	Fall 2021, Mon./Wed./Fri., 4:10-5:00 pm
Location:	Duane Physics, Room E126
Office Hours:	Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30 am, alternate in-person & virtual
Syllabus:	See the most up-to-date PDF version.

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Summary

This course is an introduction to radiative and dynamical processes (RDP) aimed at graduate students in astrophysics, space physics, and planetary science. RDP is intended to cover a handful of topics that are central to much of astrophysical and planetary sciences, but are rarely encountered at the undergraduate level. We will cover particle collisions and transport phenomena, magnetohydrodynamics, gravitational dynamics (applied to planetary orbits, stellar binaries, and N-body systems like galaxies), and a macroscopic treatment of radiation fields. This is a core required course for APS graduate students.

Course Material

The primary "required readings" are my lecture notes, which will be posted below on this page as the semester progresses. Other resources for this course include:

• A list of other online books and lecture notes that supplement my own material.
• A list of YouTube lecture playlists from the virtual Fall 2020 offering of RDP. Warning: since then, some topics have been expanded and others have been reduced in scope. Just watching these is no substitute for coming to class in Fall 2021.
• Handout: useful math/physics formulae & constants that you're free to use for any work in this course (revised for fall 2021).
• Here are initial guidelines for the RDQ group project.

Schedule

Below is a detailed schedule that will list the material covered in each class session, links to electronic copies of any handouts and problem sets, and various course deadlines.

1. Mon., August 23: Introductory lecture. Overview of course syllabus, and some review of necessary background math and physics.
   • Lecture notes (01) for course intro; background math and physics.
   • Homework 1 (problem set) assigned, due Wed., September 8.

2. Wed., August 25: Plasmas: random walks & relation to particle diffusion.
   • Lecture notes (02) for random walks, diffusive transport, and the Langevin equation.

3. Fri., August 27: Plasmas: finish random walks; start binary collisions, mean free paths, collision statistics.
   • Lecture notes (03) for plasmas and Coulomb collisions.

4. Mon., August 30: Plasmas: binary collisions, mean free paths, collision statistics.

5. Wed., September 1: Plasmas: binary collisions, mean free paths, collision statistics.

6. Fri., September 3: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Plasmas: kinetic theory, Liouville's theorem, Boltzmann equation.
   • Lecture notes (04) for kinetic theory and the Vlasov, Boltzmann, Fokker-Planck equations.

     [Mon., September 6 is Labor Day; no classes.]

7. Wed., September 8: Plasmas: kinetic theory, Liouville's theorem, Boltzmann equation.
   • Homework 1 due.
   • Homework 2 (problem set) assigned, due Wed., September 22.

8. Fri., September 10: Plasmas: fluid moments & the kinetic origins of thermodynamics.
   • Lecture notes (05) for fluid moments of the Boltzmann equation; ideal & resistive MHD.

9. Mon., September 13: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

10. Wed., September 15: Plasmas: fluid moments & the kinetic origins of thermodynamics.

11. Fri., September 17: Plasmas: ideal & resistive MHD; magnetic pressure & tension.

12. Mon., September 20: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Plasmas: ideal & resistive MHD; magnetic pressure & tension.

13. Wed., September 22: Plasmas: ideal & resistive MHD; magnetic pressure & tension.
    • Homework 2 due.
    • Homework 3 (problem set) assigned, due Wed., October 6.
    • Lecture notes (06) for ideal MHD applications: force-free fields, MHD waves, and MHD instabilities.

14. Fri., September 24: Plasmas: force-free fields, MHD waves, and other applications.

15. Mon., September 27: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

16. Wed., September 29: Plasmas: survey of processes "beyond MHD."
    • Lecture notes (07) for resistive MHD, reconnection, and plasma physics beyond MHD.

17. Fri., October 1: Plasmas: survey of processes "beyond MHD."

18. Mon., October 4: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Dynamics: conservative forces, work, energy, Euler-Lagrange formalism.
    • Lecture notes (08) for Lagrangian dynamics and 2-body Keplerian motion.

19. Wed., October 6: Dynamics: conservative forces, work, energy, Euler-Lagrange formalism.
    • Homework 3 due.
    • Homework 4 (choose 1 of 3 options) assigned, due Wed., October 27.

20. Fri., October 8: Dynamics: two-body Keplerian motion & applications.

21. Mon., October 11: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

22. Wed., October 13: Dynamics: two-body Keplerian motion & applications.

23. Fri., October 15: Dynamics: two-body Keplerian motion & applications.

24. Mon., October 18: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Dynamics: restricted three-body problem, resonances, tides.
    • Lecture notes (09) for the 3-body problem, Hill stability, resonances, and tides.

25. Wed., October 20: Dynamics: restricted three-body problem, resonances, tides.
    • Homework 5 (problem set) assigned, due Wed., November 10.

26. Fri., October 22: Dynamics: N-body Boltzmann stellar dynamics; dynamical friction.
    • Lecture notes (10) for N-body stellar dynamics in galaxies and clusters.

27. Mon., October 25: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

28. Wed., October 27: Dynamics: N-body Boltzmann stellar dynamics; dynamical friction.
    • Homework 4 due.

29. Fri., October 29: Dynamics: N-body gravitational potentials; virial theorem.

30. Mon., November 1: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Dynamics: N-body gravitational potentials; virial theorem.

31. Wed., November 3: Radiation: defining the radiation field; equation of radiative transfer.
    • Lecture notes (11) for radiation processes: definitions, transfer, and gray atmospheres.
    • Homework 6 (problem set) assigned, due Wed., December 1.

32. Fri., November 5: Radiation: defining the radiation field; equation of radiative transfer.

33. Mon., November 8: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

34. Wed., November 10: Radiation: survey of opacity sources; emission & absorption.
    • Homework 5 due.

35. Fri., November 12: Radiation: survey of opacity sources; emission & absorption.

36. Mon., November 15: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Radiation: RT solutions in useful limits; LTE & the gray atmosphere.

37. Wed., November 17: Radiation: RT solutions in useful limits; LTE & the gray atmosphere.

38. Fri., November 19: Radiation: beyond the gray atmosphere; non-LTE & spectral line formation.
    • Lecture notes (12) for radiation processes: non-gray, non-LTE, spectral lines, ionization balance, irradiated atmospheres.

      [November 22-26: Fall Break & Thanksgiving; no classes.]

39. Mon., November 29: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) RDQ group project discussion.

40. Wed., December 1: Radiation: beyond the gray atmosphere; non-LTE & spectral line formation.
    • Homework 6 due.

41. Fri., December 3: Radiation: beyond the gray atmosphere; non-LTE & spectral line formation.

42. Mon., December 6: (Half) recitation/discussion. (Half) Radiation: ionization & recombination, irradiated bodies, radiation pressure.
    • RDQ Final Report due.

43. Wed., December 8: Radiation: ionization & recombination, irradiated bodies, radiation pressure.
    • Final Exam assigned (due on Saturday, December 11).

      [Fri., Dec. 10: Reading Day, Final Exam Week: Dec. 11-15.]