Lecture Notes

LEC # TOPICS LECTURE NOTES
1

Introduction

Equatorial coordinates and sidereal time

(PDF)
2

Galactic coordinates

Distances to stars

(PDF)
3 Magnitudes (apparent and absolute) and color indices (PDF)
4

Spectral classification

The Kepler problem

(PDF)
5 Parametric solution to Kepler (PDF)
6

Masses of stars

Mass radius relation

(PDF)
7 Guest lecture: Mass measurements for exoplanets and our black hole (PDF)
8 Guest lecture: Telescopes (PDF)
9 Polytropic stars (PDF)
10

Classical and quantum statistics

The Saha equation

(PDF)
11

Equations of state

Application of Lane-Emden solution: White dwarfs

(PDF)
12 Simple results for the sun and other stars (PDF)
13 Radiative transport (PDF)
14

Opacities

Scaling laws

Convection

(PDF)
15

Energy generation

Coulomb penetration factor

(PDF)
16 Nuclear "burning" in the sun and other stars (PDF)
17 Evolution of stars of low, intermediate and high mass (PDF)
18 Stellar atmospheres (PDF)
19 Lines in stellar atmospheres (PDF)
20 In-class exam
21 Introduction to the interstellar medium (PDF)
22 Photoionized nebulae (H II regions and planetaries) (PDF)
23 Supernovae and shocks (PDF)
24 Adiabatic supernova shocks (PDF)
25 Galaxy morphology (PDF)
26

Quantifiable properties of galaxies

Collisional relaxation times

(PDF)
27 Collisionless Boltzmann equation (cartesian) and its moments (PDF)
28 Boltzmann and the 4 jeans equations (spherical) (PDF)
29 Galaxy disks: Rotation and epicyclic motion (PDF)
30 Galaxy models: Potentials, orbits, and distribution functions (PDF)
31 Clusters of galaxies (PDF)
32

Evidence for the expansion and homegeneity of the universe

Newtonian derivation of Friedmann universe

(PDF)
33 Galaxy formation (PDF)
34 Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric (PDF)
35 Friedman equation with radiation and other stuff (PDF)
36 Supernovae and cosmic acceleration (PDF)
37 Recombination and helium production (PDF)
38 Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (PDF)