Stellar Dynamics (449-0-1)

Instructors

Claude Andre Faucher Giguere
Tech F243

Meeting Info

Technological Institute LG68: Tues, Thurs 9:20AM - 10:40AM

Overview of class

Stellar Dynamics at the level of Binney & Tremaine "Galactic Dynamics."

Introduction to galaxies and other stellar systems. Collisionless dynamics and two-body relaxation, gravitational potential theory, stellar orbits, distribution functions, and numerical methods for stellar dynamics. Applications include dynamical mass measurements, galactic interactions, dynamical friction, star clusters, galactic nuclei with massive black holes, and dark matter halos.

Registration Requirements

PHYSICS 330-1,2 (classical mechanics) and PHYSICS 332-0 (statistical mechanics), and a general astronomy background at the level of ASTRO 220. Undergraduates and students who have not taken a general astrophysics course at the level of ASTRO 220 should consult with the instructor.

Learning Objectives

Galactic dynamics at the level of Binney & Tremaine "Galactic Dynamics"

Class Materials (Required)

Galactic Dynamics: (Second Edition)
by James Binney, Scott Tremaine
Princeton University Press; 2 edition (January 7, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0691130272