AST 1060-730, Radiative Processes I
Instructor
Dr. Christopher O'Dea
Building 76, Office 2124
Office phone: 475-7493
E-mail: odea at cis.rit.edu
Class hours
Tuesday 10:00 - 11:50 am
Thursday 10:00 - 11:50 am
Room 76-3200
Syllabus
Just about every thing we know about astronomical objects comes from our
observations of the electromatic radiation that they emit/absorb/scatter.
(Though detection of particles - cosmic rays, neutrinos - and
gravitational waves will play an increasingly important role.)
Thus, an understanding of the physics of these radiation processes
is crucial to making progress in astrophysics. This course will focus on
continuum emission from classical processes. Line emission will be covered
in Radiative Processes II and/or ISM II.
Topics to be covered in this course include
- Properties of Astrophysical Radiation
- Radiation and Radiative Transfer
- Black Body Radiation
- Radiation from Moving Charges
- Bremstrahlung
- Synchrotron Radiation
- Compton scattering
Lectures
- Properties of Radiation (RL 1.1-1.3; K4)
introductary slides
- Radiative Transfer (RL 1.4; K6.1-6.6)
- Thermal Radiation - derivation of Stefan-Boltzmann and the Planck Function
(RL 1.5; K5.1-5.2)
- Properties of Black-Body Radiation (RL 1.5; K5.3-5.4),
Einstein Coefficients (RL 1.6; K6.11)
- Scattering and Diffusion (RL 1.7-1.8; K6.7-6.10)
- Scattering and Diffusion continued (RL 1.7-1.8; K6.7-6.10)
- Maxwell's Equations (RL 2.1; K7.1-7.3)
- Plane E&M Waves (RL 2.2-2.3; K7.4-7.5)
- Stokes Parameters and Polarization (RL 2.4; K 7.5), Electromagnetic
Potentials (RL 2.5; K 10.1)
- Transfer Theory and Geometrical Optics (RL 2.6; K 8.0),
Lienard-Weichart Potentials & Radiation Fields (RL 3.1-3.2; K 10.2-10.3)
See also
an animation
- Radiation for Nonrelativistic Systems of Particles (RL 3.3; K 10.4-10.6),
Thomson Scattering (RL 3.4; K 10.7)
- Thomson Scattering (RL 3.4; K 10.7), Radiation Reaction Force
(RL 3.5; K 10.8), Lorentz Transformations (RL 4.1)
- Field transformations, Fields of a uniformly moving charge,
Relativistic mechanics and Lorents 4-Force (RL 4.5-4.7)
- Emission from Relativistic Particles (RL 4.8), Invariant Phase Volumes and Specific Intensity (RL 4.9);
Bremstrahlung from Single Speed Electrons (RL 5.1; K 12.1)
- Bremsstrahlung (RL 5.2-5.4; K 12.2-12.6), Synchrotron Emission (RL 6.1;
K 13.1)
- Synchrotron Emission (RL 6.2-6.6; K 13.2-13.5)
- Synchrotron Emission (RL 6.7-6.8; K 13.2-13.5),
- Synchrotron Emission: minimum energy, radiative lifetime (notes);
Compton Scattering
(RL 7.1; K 14.1)
- Compton Scattering (RL 7.1 - 7.3; K 14.2-14.4)
- Compton Scattering with Repeated Scattering (RL 7.4-7.6)
RL is Rybicki and Lightman, K is Kaiser
Text and Resources
This course will cover most of the first 7 chapters of Radiative
Processes in Astrophysics by Rybicki & Lightman (Wiley).
Since this
is a common graduate course, there are several versions of lecture
notes available. I suggest
- E. Chaing (Berkeley) transcribed by A. Parsons
here
- Elements of Astrophysics by N. Kaiser (IfA, Hawaii)
here Part II, Chap 4-14
- J. Poutanen (Oulu) here
- E. Tolstoy (Groningen)
here
- J. Wilms (Erlangen-Nuremberg)
here
- J. J. Condon and S. M. Ransom (NRAO)
Chap 2,4,5
Useful background material is found in e.g.,
- F. Reif, Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics
- H. Schey, Div, Grad, Curl, and all that
Assessment
The grade will be based on
- problem sets 50%
- review paper 25%
- presentation to the class 25%
This page maintained by Chris O'Dea.
Last modified September 4, 2012.