University of Heidelberg

Theoretical Astrophysics

Lecturers: Ralf Klessen / Ingo Berentzen
ZAH/ITA, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg
Time and Location: Tuesday, 9:10 - 10:50 hours, Philosophenweg 12 -- Grand Lecture Hall
Thursday, 9:10 - 10:50 hours, Philosophenweg 12 -- Grand Lecture Hall
Detailed Schedule: The detailed schedule can be found HERE. Lectures will be held in English.
Topics: Theoretical formulation of fundamental processes in astrophysics:
  • Hydrodynamics: derivation of equations of hydrodynamics; virial theorem; ideal and viscous fluids; hydrostatic equilibria; sound waves; supersonic flows and shocks; hydrodynamic instabilities; convection and turbulence;
  • Plasma Physics: equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics; ambipolar diffusion (non-ideal MHD); Alfven waves; collisionless plasma; dispersion relations; longitudinal waves and Landau damping;
  • Stellar Dynamics: timescales; relaxation processes; Jeans equation; virial theorem for N-body systems; equilibria and stability of self-gravitating systems; dynamical friction; Fokker Planck approximation;
  • Radiation: macroscopic radiation field; emission, absorption, and scattering; radiative transport equations; bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation; ionization and recombination; spectra;
Tutorial: Tuesday, 15:15 - 16:45, Philosophenweg 12 -- Grand Lecture Hall
Wednesday, 9:00 - 10:30, Philosophenweg 12 -- Small Lecture Hall
Friday, 9:00 - 10:30, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 3-5 -- CIP Pool

The timetable of the tutorials is found HERE.
Literature: At this LINK you find a list of recommended books for this course.
Credits: In order to get credits for this course, you have to solve 60% of the homework problems and pass the final exam. Homework assignments can be solved in groups of up to three people.
Module: This is the master module MKTP2. It corresponds to 8 credit points or a workload of 240 hours.
Certificates: For diploma students, the certificates of this course ("Scheine") are available at the secretaries office of the Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2., immediately after the end of the lecture period. For bachelor and master students, your credits will be directly added to your transcript.
Notes: Please note that the lecture on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 will take place in the New Lecture Hall (Neuer Hörsaal) due to the Transregio-SFB evaluation.
Plese note also that there will be no tutorials on Tuesday, December 22, 2009, and on Friday, January 8, 2010.

 

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