ASTR 596
Seminar in Special Topics
Credit: 0 to 16 hours.
Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
| CRN | Type | Section | Time | Days | Location | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43745 | lecture | CAC | 03:00 PM - 04:20 PM | MF | room 134 Astronomy Bldg | Ricker, P |
| 4 hours Comput Astrophys & Cosmol Computational Astrophysics and Cosmology This course prepares students to use numerical simulations to study complex problems in astrophysics and cosmology. Numerical methods and parallel computing will be covered together with the design, validation, and analysis of simulations. Emphasis will be placed on solving ordinary and partial differential equations that arise in astrophysical contexts. Students will work on assigned numerical problems and perform simulations using existing simulation codes, writing a final paper which presents the results of simulations using one of these codes. The instructor plans to obtain student accounts on NCSA supercomputers for these projects. Prerequisites: No other formal requirements except knowledge of a scientific programming language like Fortran, C, or C++. Familiarity with Unix/Linux and astronomical analysis tools is useful but not required. This course is intended for graduate students and upper-level undergraduates with strong physics backgrounds. Active student participation is expected. | ||||||
| 52310 | lecture | PC | 02:00 PM - 02:50 PM | MWF | room 134 Astronomy Bldg | Fields, B |
| 4 hours Physical Cosmology ASTR 569 PC: Physical Cosmology We will survey the essentials of modern cosmology, providing an overview of the state of the field, of open questions, and of observational and theoretical tools. Planned topics include: classical cosmology--the Friedmann universe; the early universe--inflation, nucleosynthesis, dark matter; the cosmic microwave background--basic physics, anisotropies, polarization; large scale structure formation--theoretical and numerical models observational tests; dark energy--observational evidence, theoretical ideas. The emphasis will be on applying physical principles to understand observations, and on using observations to constrain the nature of matter and spacetime on cosmic scales--viewing the universe as a laboratory for fundamental physics. Course work will focus heavy on problem solving. The intended audience is first-year graduate students and beyond; prior knowledge of cosmology, general relativity, or particle physics is not required. | ||||||