ASTR 5110 Internal Processes 1 Fall 1999: Syllabus
ASTR 5110 Fall 99 Homepage
Grading
Grading will be weighted as follows:
If you add that up, it comes to 110%.
To make it 100%, I will drop the worst 10% of your score.
Problem sets will be handed out every one or two weeks;
we'll see how that turns out in practice.
Normally problems will be due on a Friday,
and the aim is to have them graded by Monday,
or if the skiing has been good by Wednesday,
at which point we will devote some portion of the class period to
discussing the problems.
The midterm will be on Statistical Mechanics,
and will be a 24 hour take home exam,
which you will complete in any consecutive 24 hour period
during 23-30 Sep.
In place of a final, you will make a 10 minute presentation in class,
and write an associated report,
on a paper involving some application of
Atomic, Molecular, or Radiation Physics
in Astronomical or Planetary Science.
Details at Reports and Presentations.
This final will be supplemented by a one-on-one oral exam,
which is likely to cover not only material in your report and presentation,
but also atomic, molecular, and radiation physics in general.
Invited Lectures
I will be away for 2 weeks during 8-19 Nov.
Dick McCray and Mike Shull have kindly agreed to offer a self-contained set of
lectures on Molecular Physics over that period.
Content
The course falls into three parts:
- Statistical Mechanics (4 weeks)
- Atoms and Radiation (7 weeks)
- Molecules (2 weeks)
1. Statistical Mechanics (4 weeks)
-
Per AJSH notes (see Texts)
2. Atoms and Radiation
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Atoms: Overview (1 week)
-
Collisional and radiative processes
-
Atomic units
-
Bohr Atom
-
Atomic Structure
-
Selection Rules
-
Spectra
-
Review of Quantum Mechanics (1 week)
-
Schrödinger Equation
-
Operators
-
Angular Momentum
-
Perturbation Theory
-
Rates
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Hydrogen Atom (1 week)
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Wavefunctions
-
Spin
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H-atom spectroscopy
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Fine-structure, Hyperfine structure, Zeeman effect, 2-photon transitions, Lamb shift
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Multi-Electron Atoms (2 weeks)
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Structure: configuration, LS term, J level
-
Construction of terms
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Isoelectronic sequences
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Radiative selection rules
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Lines: Resonance, Allowed, Forbidden, Semi-forbidden, Fine-Structure
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Radiative Processes (2 weeks)
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Radiation from moving charges
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Multipole expansion
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Oscillator strengths
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Spontaneous emission, absorption, stimulated emission
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Einstein relations
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Line profiles: Doppler, Lorentz, Voigt
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Introduction to Radiative Transfer Equation
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Opacity sources
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Excitation, Ionization, Cooling (1 week)
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Detailed Balance
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Collisional processes
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Rates: collision strength, Born approximation, generalized oscillator strength
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Two-level atom
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Plasma diagnostics: density, temperature
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Ionization equilibria: thermodynamic, collisional, photoionization
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Cooling function
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Thermal instability
3. Molecules (2 weeks)
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Bonding
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Electronic-vibrational-rotational
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Notation: diatomic molecules
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Vibrational levels: simple harmonic oscillator
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Rotational levels: top
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Nuclear-electronic angular momentum coupling: Hund's cases
-
Symmetry of homonuclear molecules: para/ortho
-
Ro-vibrational spectra
-
Franck-Condon principle
-
Hönl-London factors
-
Selection rules
-
Assocation, dissociation, predissociation
Texts
ASTR 5110 Fall 99 Homepage
Updated 7 Sep 1999