University of Vermont
Fall
2012 Term
Physics Department
Physics
257 "Astrophysics"
Course Description & General
Information
Instructor:
Professor Joanna Rankin
Department of Physics
Cook Physical Science Building
538 Cook Bldg.
Joanna.Rankin@uvm.edu
http://www.uvm.edu/~jmrankin
email: Joanna.Rankin@uvm.edu
Office
Hours:
W 1-2; Th 4-5 pm or by appointment
Textbook:
Bradley W. Carroll and Dale A. Ostlie: Modern
Astrophysics, 2nd Ed.,
(Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 2006, ISBN 0-8053-0402-9).
This
is an excellent, up-to-date and ambitious text, and we will follow it
closely. With the exception of
Frank Shu's book, previous texts for an upper-level, undergraduate, astrophysics
course have not been very adequate as texts, but will be useful as additional
references:
Harwit: Astrophysical
Concepts
Motz and Duveen: Essentials of Astronomy
Frank Shu:
The Physics Universe
Swihart:
Astrophysics and Stellar Astronomy
Vershuur:
The Invisible UniverseÑRevealed
These books can be found in the Physics and Chemistry
Library.
Web
Resources:
Please see the Astrophysics 257 entries at
http://www.uvm.edu/~jmrankin
Class
Meetings:
Class time will be apportioned according to the
syllabus, and we will run the class as a tutorial. Students will rotate being responsible for summarizing the
material and assembling a series of questions for discussion. I will sometimes lecture on particular
topics, sometimes to explicate or extend Carroll & Ostlie's discussion and
sometimes to give an alternative point of view. Bring your questions to class to fuel our discussions. If you
have a question, you are certainly not the only one. Many in issues astrophysics lead to philosophical questions,
and discussions "a little off the topic" are not only important and interesting,
but crucial.
Reading
Assignments:
Please study Carroll & Ostlie for background before attending the relevant
class discussions. This will make
for much more interesting, fruitful and lively classes. Thus the reading assignment given as
Carroll & Ostlie, Chapt. 11 for instance, should be completed before class
on Sept. 23 (see Syllabus).
Notebooks:
Small format (6x9-inch), loose-leaf notebooks with dated and titled entries must be kept from the beginning of the course. I ask you to make entries after each
class and each time you study your book or use it for solving the
problems. I ask you to
¤ keep
track of the material you are studying and reflect briefly on its interest and
relevance to you.
¤ jot
down questions for raising in class or for further study.
¤ use
your notebooks for recording bibliographical references, library notes,
collecting interesting articles and clippings from newspapers or magazines, the
web, etc.
In short, use your notebooks for anything except taking class notes (any class notes could be kept in
a separate section). Your
notebooks should be well organized and comprehensible to others and should
document a serious and sustained scholarship throughout the term. Notebooks will be collected once during
the term and will be submitted for grading no later than December 11. At that time, please provide a Table of
Contents to your notebook. Your
notebooks will constitute a significant part of your grade.
Problem
Sets:
Each Chapter in Carroll & Ostlie has a number of
problems, and your solutions of these problems are the very foundation of this
course. I ask you do as many of
these as you reasonably can, in collaboration with your classmates,
according to a system that we will develop together.
I then ask you to look over the solutions to the
other problems which you did not do, and if you disagree with someone else's
solution, please go to them and discuss it with them. Corrected solutions can then be handed in during the week
following the time that the original solutions were due and will count to the
credit both of the person responsible for that problem and the person who
helped revise it.
Research
Paper/Project:
I ask each member of the class to choose a suitable
topic for a nominally 10-page research paper or project that will have
significant physical/mathematical content. Organize your paper or project around several well chosen
and closely related questions. For
papers, then pursue the research first in Carroll & Ostlie and then in the
resources of the Bailey/Howe Library (and, in some cases, the Web). Projects can, of course, be more
flexible in their design but should also have library-research and formal
report components. Please check
out your topic or project with me by the end of October, and to this end
prepare a one-page abstract and one-page working bibliography or your subject
area. Papers/projects are due in
class on November 20.
Exam:
I will give one exam at the end of the course. It could be a take-home exam if you so
elect. Also, the exam could be
waived entirely in favor of a major (20 page) research paper if the class as a
whole so chooses.
Grading:
Problem
Sets
30%
Notebook
15%
Paper
or project
20%
Exam
20%
Class
Participation
15%