Readings | Modern Astrophysics | Physics

Required Readings

Bohm-Vitense, Erika. Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics. 3 vols. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780521344029.

Binney, James, and Scott Tremaine. Galactic Dynamics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780691084442.

Clayton, Donald D. Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1983. ISBN: 9780226109534.

Hansen, Carl J., and Steven D. Kawaler. Stellar Interiors: Physical Principles, Structure, and Evolution. New York, NY: Springer, 2004. ISBN: 9780387200897.

Mihalas, Dimitri, and James Binney. Galactic Astronomy. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman, 1981, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780716712800.

Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics

Shu, Frank H. The Physical Universe. Mill Valley, CA: University Science Books, 1982. ISBN: 9780935702057.

Schechter, Paul. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology ( This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader. PDF)

Readings by Session

Course readings.
SES #	TOPICS	READINGS
1	Introduction Equatorial coordinates and sidereal time	Mihalas, Dimitri, and James Binney. Galactic Astronomy. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman, 1981, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780716712800.
2	Galactic coordinates Distances to stars	Mihalas, Dimitri, and James Binney. Galactic Astronomy. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman, 1981, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780716712800.
3	Magnitudes (apparent and absolute) and color indices	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
4	Spectral classification The Kepler problem	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
5	Parametric solution to Kepler	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
6	Masses of stars Mass radius relation	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
7	Guest lecture: Mass measurements for exoplanets and our black hole	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
8	Guest lecture: Telescopes	Press, William H. Introduction to Astrophysics. Chapters 2, 3.5, 4.1 and 4.2 through 4.2.5.
9	Polytropic stars	Clayton. Sections 2-4.
10	Classical and quantum statistics The Saha equation	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 7.1-7.2.2.
11	Equations of state Application of Lane-Emden solution: White dwarfs	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 7.1-7.2.2. Clayton. Sections 2-4.
12	Simple results for the sun and other stars	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 7.1-7.2.2. Clayton. Sections 2-4.
13	Radiative transport	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 3.1-3.5 and 7.1-7.2.
14	Opacities Scaling laws Convection	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 3.1-3.5 and 7.1-7.2.
15	Energy generation Coulomb penetration factor	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 3.1-3.5 and 7.1-7.2.
16	Nuclear "burning" in the sun and other stars	Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 3.1-3.5 and 7.1-7.2.
17	Evolution of stars of low, intermediate and high mass	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 6.3-6.5.
18	Stellar atmospheres	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 6.3-6.5.
19	Lines in stellar atmospheres	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 6.3-6.5.
20	In-class exam
21	Introduction to the interstellar medium	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 6.3-6.5. Bohm-Vitense. Vol. 2. Chapters 5, 6, and 10.
22	Photoionized nebulae (H II regions and planetaries)	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Section 6.3-6.5. Bohm-Vitense. Vol. 2. Chapters 5, 6, and 10.
23	Supernovae and shocks	Clayton. Section 4.3 through equation (4-62). Hansen, and Kawaler. Sections 6.3-6.5. Bohm-Vitense. Vol. 2. Chapters 5, 6, and 10.
24	Adiabatic supernova shocks	Shu. The Physics of Astrophysics, Volume II: Gas Dynamics. Chapter 15 (pp. 214-217) and 17.
25	Galaxy morphology	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 1 and section 3.1.
26	Quantifiable properties of galaxies Collisional relaxation times	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 1 and section 3.1.
27	Collisionless Boltzmann equation (cartesian) and its moments	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 4 through equation (4-45).
28	Boltzmann and the 4 jeans equations (spherical)	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 4 through equation (4-45).
29	Galaxy disks: Rotation and epicyclic motion	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 4 through equation (4-45).
30	Galaxy models: Potentials, orbits, and distribution functions	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 4 through equation (4-45).
31	Clusters of galaxies	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 4 through equation (4-45).
32	Evidence for the expansion and homegeneity of the universe Newtonian derivation of Friedmann universe	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
33	Galaxy formation	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
34	Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
35	Friedman equation with radiation and other stuff	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
36	Supernovae and cosmic acceleration	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
37	Recombination and helium production	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
38	Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background	Binney, and Tremaine. Chapter 10. 8.902 Notes on Cosmology. Sections 3.1-3.3.
	Final exam