PROFESSOR:
John Lacy
RLM 16.332, 334
Office hours: MWF 11-12; TuTh mornings are often good too
lacy@astro.as.utexas.edu
Homepage


Prerequisites
I assume you have seen Maxwell's equations and Schrodinger's equation, and some simple solutions to these equations.

TEXTS
Rybicki & Lightman, Radiative Processes in Astrophysics, covers the first half of the course well and the second half not so well. In the past, when the course covered only quantum processes, Bransden & Joachain, Physics of Atoms and Molecules was used, and it may be a useful supplement for the second half of the course. Other texts on these topics include books by Jackson, Shu, Herzberg, Mihalis, and Spitzer (and your undergrad E&M and quantum texts).

CONTENTS
The course will cover classical and quantum radiative processes relevant to astrophysics. I want you to be able to find and use formulas for calculations needed for your research, and to have a conceptual understanding of where the formulas come from and what they say.

Preparation
Classes will concentrate on discussion of the material in reading assignments, so it will be essential to do the reading before it is discussed, and to come prepared with questions about the topics in the reading. Class participation will count for 1/6 of the course grade.

HOMEWORK
A homework set will be assigned approximately every two weeks. The homework will emphasize calculations. Some problems will come from R&L, who give the answers in the back of the book. Work them out yourselves, with help from other students and the book when necessary, and hand in your own work. Homework will count for 1/2 of the grade.

TESTS
There will be four in-class tests, approximately one every four weeks. The tests will not involve detailed calculations, but will require conceptual answers and explanations. The tests will count for 1/3 of the grade.

SCHEDULE (approximate)