WELCOME! to the home page for ASTR 5120: Radiative and Dynamical Processes. The aim of this course is to provide a broad introduction to physical processes that are frequently encountered in astrophysics and planetary sciences: macroscopic radiative transport, magnetohydrodynamics, and gravitational dynamics. A detailed list of topics and a syllabus are also available. I encourage everyone to come and discuss any aspect of the class with me at any time - there are no formal office hours but I'm available whenever I'm in the office (JILA A909, 2-7836).

NOTES AND TEXTBOOKS No one textbook covers all the aspects of this class. In preparing the lectures I'll be making use of a number of books, including:

Radiative Processes in Astrophysics: an (absurdly expensive) classic
Fundamentals of Plasma Physics: I find Paul Bellan's style very readable
Galactic Dynamics: another classic, this time reasonably priced. The 2nd edition is substantially revised and updated.

Web resources that you might find useful include:

Essential Magnetohydrodynamics for Astrophysics: a very useful set of notes by Henk Spruit
Elements of Astrophysics: a comprehensive set of lecture notes by Nick Kaiser.

MINI PROBLEMS

Random walks (due Friday 8/27)
Qualitative intensity variation
Radiative transfer with just emission
Radiative diffusion (due Wednesday)

Instructor: Phil Armitage (JILA A909, 303-492-7836, email pja@jilau1.colorado.edu)