PHYS 375: Stars and Galaxies

TTh 7:00pm-8:20pm (RCH 204) Contact Information

Prof. Avery Broderick Oce: PHY 258 Email: abroderick@uwaterloo.ca Oce Hrs: by appt. Course TA: Angus Mok Oce: PHY 208 Email: ak2mok@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca Oce Hrs: Wed. 3:00pm-4:00pm

Course web page: (UW-LEARN): https://learn.uwaterloo.ca

Course Description
Stellar interiors and atmospheres, star formation and evolution, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes. Stellar populations and dynamics in galaxies, galaxy evolution, the star formation history of the universe. Pre-requisites are PHYS 122 and two of PHYS 234, 241, 242, 252, 256, 258/358, 263, or equivalents.

Course Text
The required textbook is Foundations of Astrophysics, by Ryden & Peterson (AddisonWesley). Additional texts that you may nd useful are: Parts II & III of The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy, by Shu (University Science Books; less advanced), Stellar Structure and Evolution by Kippenhahn & Weigert (Springer-Verlag; more advanced), Galactic Dynamics, 2nd Ed. by Binney & Tremaine (Princeton University Press; more advanced).

Course Policies, Grades, etc.

Attendance at lecture is required. Lectures are your rst, best chance to ask questions and discuss course material. Chances are that if you do not understand something others are similarly confused, and all will benet from your participation. A successful life in science requires learning the art of asking stupid questions! Read ahead! To get the most out of lectures and class discussions, you must read the text book beforehand! The text is quite accessible, and the pertinent reading for each week (subject to revision) is listed below! You have no excuse!

Grade Breakdown: Item Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Assignment 3 Assignment 4 Assignment 5 Assignment 6 Quiz 1 Midterm test Quiz 2 Final Exam Total Date Due Value Jan 17 5% Jan 31 5% Feb 14 5% Mar 7 5% Mar 21 5% Apr 4 5% Jan 24 10% Feb 26 30% Mar 14 10% TBD 30% 110%

Problem Sets: Assignments and solutions will be posted on the LEARN web site, at https://learn.uwaterloo.ca. The assignments are worth 30% of your nal mark and require a signicant amount of work (approximately 23 hours per week, every week). You are strongly encouraged to start the assignments as soon as possible. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated. Late assignments will be accepted for half credit until solutions are posted.. Marked assignments will be returned in class. See the following section on Academic Integrity for a description of the course collaboration policy. Quizzes: There will be two short quizzes at the beginning of lecture on Jan 24 and Mar 14. Sitting all quizzes is required. For each, you may bring a single sheet of notes (both sides). Tests: The midterm will be held during normal class hours in the usual class room on Feb 26. The nal exam will be held on a date and time to be determined, during the exam period. Please note that student travel plans are not considered acceptable grounds for granting an alternative examination time. For each, you may bring a single sheet of notes (both sides). A note on grades: You may notice that 110% of your grade has been accounted for. This means that poor performance on a single exam, a missing problem set, or a bombed quiz, can be mitigated by success in the other items. If many people learn a great deal about stars & galaxies, I will be overjoyed to give many good grades. Courtesy: Please turn o or silence cell phones at the beginning of lecture, arrive to lectures on time, if you wish to use a laptop sit towards the back, do not carry on conversations, etc. That is, be courteous to your fellow class mates. If you are not, you will be asked to leave.

Note for students with disabilities

The Oce for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term.

Academic Integrity
Collaboration: To create and promote a culture of academic integrity, the behaviour of all members of the University of Waterloo should be based on honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Collaboration on assignments is permitted, but you must: declare the names of all collaborators briey describe the nature of the collaboration (what did you contribute) present your own, individual solution. Direct copying is not allowed. understand and be able to defend your solution if challenged. Grievance: A student who believes that a decision aecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy #70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic oenses, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an oense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid oenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of oenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Discipline. Appeals: Concerning a decision made under Policy #70 (Student Petitions and Grievances) (other than petitions) or Policy #71 (Student Discipline) a student may appeal the nding, the penalty, or both. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy #72 (Student Appeals).

(Subject to change)
Lecture Lecture 1 Lecture 2 Lecture 3 Lecture 4 Lecture 5 Lecture 6 Lecture 7 Lecture 8 Lecture 9 Lecture 10 Lecture 11 Lecture 12 Date Content Jan 8 Properties of Stars Jan 10 Stellar masses Jan 15 Blackbody radiation Jan 17 Spectral Line formation Jan 22 Radiative Transfer Jan 24 Quiz 1; Stellar Classication Jan 29 Hydrostatic Equilibrium Jan 31 The Solar Atmosphere Feb 5 Energy Production Feb 7 Stellar Structure Feb 12 The interstellar medium Feb 14 Star formation Feb 18-22 Reading Week Feb 26 Midterm Feb 28 Stellar evolution Mar 5 White Dwarfs Mar 7 Neutron stars Mar 12 Black holes and Supernovae Mar 14 Quiz 2; The Milky Way Mar 19 The Milky Way Mar 21 The Milky Way Mar 26 Galaxies Mar 28 Galaxies and clusters Apr 2 Superclusters Apr 4 Exam Review Chapters 13.1-13.3 13.4-13.6 5.7 5.1, 5.3 5.4, 5.6 14.1-14.4 15.1, 7.1 7.2-7.3 15.2-15.3 15.4 16.1-16.2 17.1 Assignment 1 Due Thur, Jan 17 1 Due Thur, Jan 17 2 Due Thur, Jan 31 2 Due Thur, Jan 31 2 Due Thur, Jan 31 2 Due Thur, Jan 31 3 Due Thur, Feb 14 3 Due Thur, Feb 14 3 Due Thur, Feb 14 3 Due Thur, Feb 14 4 Due Thur, Mar 7 4 Due Thur, Mar 7

Timetable

Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture Lecture

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

17.2-17.3 4 18.1 5 18.2 5 18.3-18.4 5 19.1-19.2 6 19.5-19.6 6 19.7, 20.1 6 20.2-20.3 6 20.4-20.5, 22.1 6 22.2-22.3 6

Due Due Due Due Due Due Due Due Due Due

Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur, Thur,

Mar 7 Mar 21 Mar 21 Mar 21 Apr 4 Apr 4 Apr 4 Apr 4 Apr 4 Apr 4