ASTR 5110 Fall 2022 Homepage
ASTR 5110 Atomic and Molecular Physics Spring 2022: Notes
Statistical Mechanics
For the first part of this course, on statistical mechanics,
I will be lecturing from my own notes on
You may find it helpful to use another text,
and you are welcome to choose whatever text you prefer.
The statistical mechanics textbook mostly commonly recommended
in this course is currently in its 3rd edition:
- R. K. Pathria and Paul D. Beale (2011) “Statistical Mechanics” (Academic Press).
Atomic and Molecular Physics
Notes (some hand-written, some typed) that I have written for this course:
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Overview 1 (scanned pdf)
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Overview 2 (scanned pdf)
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Structure of Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics (scanned pdf)
Mathematical Structure of Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics (pdf)
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Hydrogen Atom without Spin (pdf)
Angular Momentum (pdf)
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Perturbation Theory (pdf)
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Multi-electron atoms (scanned pdf)
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Transition Probabilities and Selection Rules (pdf)
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Collisions (scanned pdf)
Collisions (pdf)
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Spin in Atoms (pdf)
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Radiative processes (scanned pdf)
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Molecules (scanned pdf)
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Molecular spectra (scanned pdf)
Hönl-London factors (pdf)
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Astronomical masers (scanned pdf)
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Ionization equilibrium (scanned pdf)
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Cooling (scanned pdf)
Where to find atomic and molecular data:
The recommended text, now in its 3rd edition, is
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Jonathan Tennyson (2019)
“Astronomical Spectroscopy: An Introduction to the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Astronomical Spectra, 2nd Edn.” (World Scientific).
This text is well-suited to this course.
If your future includes observations of astrophysical or planetary spectra,
then this is a good book to invest in.
A criticism is that the problems are too abstract, given the practical nature of the book:
I would prefer problems more closely tied
to observations of astronomical objects.
Texts that you may find useful are:
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George B. Rybicki & Alan P. Lightman (1979)
“Radiative Processes in Astrophysics” (Wiley-VCH).
This is a classic and excellent text, but it focuses on relativistic processes,
with chapters on bremsstrahlung, synchrotron radiation, and Compton scattering,
which might be more suitable for other courses that you may take.
The last 3 chapters cover atomic and molecular physics,
but too briefly for this course.
The problem sets are nice.
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Donald E. Osterbrock & Gary J. Ferland (2005)
“Astrophysics Of Gaseous Nebulae And Active Galactic Nuclei 2nd ed.” (University Science Books).
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Thomas L. Wilson, Kristen Rohlfs & Susanne Hüttemeister (2014)
“Tools of Radio Astronomy 6th ed.” (Springer).
ASTR 5110 Fall 2022 Homepage
Updated 2022 Aug 15