Astrophysics 421 Independent Study Schedule

The schedule for independent study Astrophysics 421 for the Fall semester, 2014 is given below. The reading and homework assignments correspond to one or two chapters per week. The Astro 421 homepage should be consulted for links to resources for the course. The course grade will be based on completion of homework assignments (40%) and tests (60%).

You are expected to turn in the corresponding homework assignments by the dates listed. The homework assignments correspond to the numbered exercises at the end of each chapter in the lecture notes. These will not be graded but will be be checked for completion. Solution sheets will be provided after you turn in assignments. This counts 40% of your grade. You will be penalized 25% per day for each day that an assignment is late. This is meant to keep you from getting behind; if there are reasons why you need to be late with an assignment, check with me and we can probably reach an arrangement if your reason is legitimate.

Where solutions are provided, you are expected to do the homework before consulting the solutions. You may work together on the homework assignments as long as each person is doing all the problems (it is not permissible for a team to divide up the work and then copy from each other). You are encouraged to use tools like Maple, Mathematica, MatLab, or programming languages in solving problems and graphing solutions. However, you may not use “black-box” programs written by others to do problems automatically. For example, there are tensor algebra packages in Maple or Mathematica that will solve some general relativity problems automatically. You should learn to use those, but unless I tell you otherwise, I expect you to solve those homework problems by hand, because you also need to learn how the problems are solved. But you can check the answers with the tensor algebra packages and they are valuable tools that you should learn to use and modify in practical applications, once you understand how the tensor algebra works.

 

Week Of

Chapter**

Assigned Exercises

Due Date*
Aug 17

1. Introduction

none

**
Aug 17

2. Coordinate Systems and Transformations

1, 3

*
Aug 24

3. Covariance and Tensor Notation

1, 3

*
Aug 31

4. Lorentz Covariance and Special Relativity

1, 2, 3

*
Sept 7

5. Lorentz Invariant Dynamics

1

*
Sept 14

6. The Principle of Equivalence

1, 2, 3

*
Sept 14

7. Curved Spacetime and General Covariance

1, 3, 4

*
Sept 21

8. The General Theory of Relativity

1, 3, 4

*
Oct 5

9. The Schwarzschild Spacetime

2, 4, 5

*
Oct 5

10. Neutron Stars and Pulsars

---

*
Oct 12

11. Spherical Black Holes

1, 2

*
Oct 12

12. Quantum Black Holes

1

*
Oct 19

13. Rotating Black Holes

2, 4

*
Oct 26 14. Black Holes as Central Engines
2
*
Oct 26

15. Observational Evidence for Black Holes

1

*
Nov 2

16. The Hubble Expansion

3, 5, 7

*
Nov 2

17. Energy and Matter in the Universe

1, 3, 4

*
Nov 9

18. Friedmann Cosmologies

1, 2, 3

*
Nov 16

19. Evolution of the Universe

1, 2, 5

*
Nov 23

20. The Big Bang

1 ,2, 3

*
Nov 23

21. Beyond the Standard Model

1, 2

*
Nov 30

22. Linearized Gravity and Gravitational Waves

1, 2

*
Nov 30

23. Sources of Gravitational Waves

1, 3

*

* Unless otherwise noted, homework is due by the end of the week the chapter is assigned

** Chapters available from An Introduction to General Relativity, Black Holes, and Cosmology, Mike Guidry;

a condensed version in presentation format is also available.