Graduate Course Descriptions
ASTR 205 - Introduction to Astronomical Research
Lectures by UCSC faculty on current areas of astronomical and astrophysical research being carried out locally. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. H. Epps
ASTR 207 - Future Directions/Future Missions
Examines possible key science goals for the the next decade, such as planet detection, galaxy formation, and "dark energy" cosmology; the means for addressing these goals, such as new space missions and/or ground-based facilities; and the political, technical, and scientific constraints on such research. Looks at the role of the Decadel Survey. Examines a few existing programs (DEEP, ALMA, SNAP, NGST) as examples. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Offered in alternate academic years. G. Illingworth
ASTR 212 - Dynamical Astronomy
Surveys dynamical processes in astrophysical systems on scales ranging from the planetary to the cosmological, stability and evolution of planetary orbits, scattering processes and the few-body problem, processes in stellar clusters, spiral structure and galactic dynamics, galactic collisions, and evolution of large-scale structure. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. G. Laughlin
ASTR 214 - Structure Formation in the Universe
Course builds upon course 240C (offered in alternate academic years) and covers a similar set of topics with a larger emphasis on first stars and black holes, galaxy formation, the physics of the intergalactic medium, and high-redshift sources. Enrollment restricted to graduate students.
Staff
ASTR 220A- Stellar Structure and Evolution
Survey of stellar structure and evolution. Physical properties of stellar material. Convective and radiative energy transport. Stellar models and evolutionary tracks through all phases. Comparison with observations. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Offered in alternate academic years. J. Fortney
ASTR 220B - Star and Planet Formation
Theory of star formation. Interpretation of observations in star forming regions. Theory and observations of protoplanetary disks. Origin and evolution of the solar nebula. Formation and evolution of the terrestrial planets and the giant planets. Prerequisite(s): course 220A. Offered in alternate academic years. M. Krumholz
ASTR 220C - Advanced Stages of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis.
The evolution of massive stars beyond helium burning; properties of white dwarf stars; physics and observations of novae, supernovae, and other high energy stellar phenomena; nuclear systematics and reaction rates; the origin and production of all the chemical elements. Prerequisite(s): course 220A. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Offered in alternate academic years. S. Woosley.
ASTR 225 - Physics of Compact Objects.
Physics of dense matter: equations of state. Structure and cooling of white dwarfs and neutron stars. Observations and phenomenology of pulsars. Elementary relativity; properties of black holes. Compact objects in binary systems: X-ray sources, binary pulsars. Pulsars in globular clusters. Offered in alternate academic years. E. Ramirez-Ruiz
ASTR 230 - Low-Density Astrophysics.
Fundamental physical theory of gaseous nebulae and the interstellar medium. Ionization, thermal balance, theory and observation of emission spectra. Interstellar absorption lines, extinction by interstellar dust. Ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio spectra of gaseous nebulae. Offered in alternate academic years. J. Prochaska
ASTR 233 - Physical Cosmology
Survey of modern physical cosmology, including Newtonian cosmology, curved space-times, observational tests of cosmology, the early universe, inflation, nucleosynthesis, dark matter, and the formation of structure in the universe. Prerequisite(s): course 202. Offered in alternate academic years. J. Primack
ASTR 260 - Instrumentation for Astronomy
An introduction to astronomical instrumentation for infrared and visible wavelengths. Topics include instrument requirements imposed by dust, atmosphere, and telescope; optical, mechanical, and structural design principles and components; electronic and software instrument control. Imaging cameras and spectrographs are described. Offered in alternate academic years. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. C. Rockosi
ASTR 292 - Seminar (No Credit)
Seminar attended by faculty, graduate students, and upper-division undergraduate students.
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