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AST 381 · Supernovae    1   2   3  


Syllabus

15 weeks
  1. OVERVIEW - Observations and Theory (Wheeler & Benetti; Resource Letter) (2 weeks)
    1. Historical SN
    2. Extragalactic
    3. SN 1987A
    4. Spectral Classes
      1. P-Cygni line profiles
    5. Physical Mechanisms
      1. Thermonuclear Explosion
      2. Gravitational Collapse
    6. Compact Remnants - none, neutron star, black hole
    7. Light Curves
      1. Adiabatic Expansion
      2. Radioactive Decay
    8. Statistics
      1. Ia vs. Everything Else
      2. Young vs. Old Population, arms or not?
    9. Connecting Theoretical Evolution to Observed Explosions
    10. Distance Scale
    11. Introduction to the Supernova/Gamma-ray Burst Group in Austin

  2. OBSERVATIONAL BACKGROUND (3 weeks)
    1. Historical Supernovae
    2. Extragalactic Supernovae
      1. Spectral Types Ia, b, c, II, IIL, IIP, IIn, SN 1987A, SN 1993J
      2. Variations in Ia
      3. UV, IR, Radio, X-rays, Gamma-rays
      4. Polarization of Supernovae: The Asymmetry Revolution
      5. The Gamma-ray Burst Connection

  3. FINAL STAGES OF STELLAR EVOLUTION (2 weeks)
    1. Degenerate Carbon Cores
      1. Dredge-up
      2. Planetary Nebulae, Envelope Loss
    2. Degenerate O/Ne/Mg cores
    3. Iron Cores
    4. Pair Formation Supernovae
    5. Evolution with Rotation and Magnetic Fields
    6. Binary Evolution

  4. DYNAMICS (3 weeks)
    1. Thermonuclear Explosions
      1. Ignition, convection, the Urca process
      2. Laminar burning, instabilities
      3. Deflagration - Buoyancy instability, scaling law
      4. Central Carbon Ignition - convective flows
      5. Delayed Detonation, Pulsating Delayed Detonation
      6. Off-center Ignition, Spotty Ignition
    2. Gravitational Collapse
      1. Basic Dynamics
      2. Neutrino Transport
      3. Rotation, Magnetic Fields and Jets
      4. The Mass Cut: Neutron Stars versus Black Holes

  5. LIGHT CURVES AND SPECTRA (2 weeks)
    1. P-Cygni profile
    2. Emission line profiles
    3. Sobolev Approximation
    4. Expansion Opacity
    5. Flux Limited Diffusion
    6. Radioactive Decay and Gamma Ray Deposition

  6. EXPLOSIVE NUCLEOSYNTHESIS (1 week)
    1. Production Mechanisms
      1. Bulk Nucleosynthesis
      2. Fine Tuning
    2. Chemical Evolution

  7. SUPERNOVA REMNANTS (1 week)
    1. Circumstellar Environment
      1. Radio and X-ray emission
      2. Polarization
      3. Chevalier mechanism
    2. Old Supernovae, Very Young Remnants
    3. Young Remnants
    4. Old Remnants

  8. SUPERNOVAE AND THE DISTANCE SCALE (1 week)
    1. Type Ia as Calibrated Candles
    2. Expanding Photosphere Method
    3. The Hubble Constant
    4. Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe



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22 August 2003
Astronomy Program · The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, Texas 78712
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