Professor
J. Craig Wheeler
Office: RLM 17.230
Phone: (512) 471-6407
wheel@astro.as.
utexas.edu
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Prerequisite
Astronomy 383D or equivalent course in stellar structure and evolution.
General Description
This course will review the current theoretical understanding of the nature of supernovae
with appropriate reference to observational constraints. It will briefly cover the late stages of stellar evolution of
single and binary stars, and focus on the principle physical mechanisms believed to lead to explosion: degenerate
thermonuclear burning and gravitational collapse of stellar cores. As time permits, we will also discuss nucleosynthesis
and chemical evolution, the formation of extended remnants the connection to cosmic gamma-ray bursts and the
application of supernovae to the distance scale and cosmology.
Grades will be based on homework problems assigned approximately every two weeks, a term paper, and a take-home
final. Students will be required to keep a log of supernova discoveries reported in the IAU Circulars and turn in that
log and some interpretative commentary at the end of the term. The log should record the supernova host galaxy type
and red-shift, the supernova type, and a brief record of its photometric and spectral evolution.
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