Radiative Processes (ASTRON C207, 22Fall & 23Fall)

General Info:

• Goal of the class: broad understanding of radiation processes in various astrophysical contexts
• Prerequisite: Maxwell equations, Schrodinger equation, statistical mechanics, vector analysis
• Required texts: Rybicki & Lightman's book and supplied texts
• Grading:

  Homework 20%; Mid-term exam 15%; Final exam 20%; Class Participation 10%; Exploratory project 15%

Course Outline:

Radiation fields (EM waves, Fourier spectrum, flux, intensity, polarization)

Radiative transfer (emissivity, opacity, optical depth, blackbody, diffusion)

Special relativity (4-vectors, Lorentz transformation of EM fields, Doppler factor, beaming)

Moving charges (equation of motion, retarded potentials, Larmor's formula, multipole fields)

Plasma (plasma frequency, phase/group speeds, dispersion, Faraday rotation, geometric optics)

Bremsstrahlung (Coulomb collision, ff emission & absorption)

Compton scattering (KN cross-section, inverse-Compton power and spectrum, repeated scatterings)

Synchrotron (emission spectrum, absorption, polarization, synchrotron self-Compton)

Hydrogen (energy levels, fine-structure, bound-bound and bound-free transitions, photoionization, recombination, Saha, Milne)

Spectral lines (broadening, curve of growth)

Collisions (rates, (de)excitation, ionization, inelastic)

Molecules (diatomic, rotational/vibrational transitions)

Dust grains (scattering, absorption)

[Nuclei and neutrinos]

[Cosmic rays]

Other Reading:

• Physics of the Interstellar and intergalactic Medium, by B. Draine
• The Physics of Astrophysics Volumn I: Radiation, by F. Shu
• Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, by F. Chen
• High Energy Astrophysics Volume I, by M. Longair (pdf)
• Radiation Hydrodynamics, by J. Castor (pdf)