Physics223:Stellar
Structure
Spring2016
CourseWebpage: http://pono.ucsd.edu/~adam/teaching/phys223
Instructor:
Prof.AdamBurgasser
340SERF,x26958
aburgasser@ucsd.edu
officehours:We3p-4porbyappt.
CourseManager: Ms.PattiHey
plhey@physics.ucsd.edu
LectureSchedule: Lecture:TuTh12:30-1:50pmin383SERF
Workshop:W1:30-2:50pmin383SERF
LectureMake-up:F2:30-3:50pminTBD
Textbooks: Hansen,Kawaler&Trimble,StellarInteriors,2nded.
Kippenhahn&Weigert,StellarStructureandEvolution
Clayton,PrinciplesofStellarEvolutionandNucleosynthesis
ErikaBöhm-Vitense,IntroductiontoStellarAstrophysics:Volume3
CourseGrading
Homeworks(30%):4assignmentsdue@5pmonevenFridays
In-classArticleDiscussion(10%):Eachstudentwillleaddiscussiononone
oftheprimaryarticlereferencesinclass
CourseProject(50%):Anin-depthstudyofaspecifictopicrelatedtothe
course,includes(1)amid-termproposal,(2)paperand(3)
oralpresentation
Participation(10%):Basedonparticipationinclassdiscussions
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Physics223Spring2016
CourseSyllabus(subjecttochange)
Weeks
0-1
1-2
3-4
4-5
6-7
7
8
9-10
Finals
Topics
Deadlines/
Workshops
Introduction:starproperties,
cosmologicalcontext,HRDiagram,
stellarstructureeqns,virialtheorem
Wk2:Python
Starformation,Jean’scriteria,stellar
massandluminosityfunctions
HW1(TBD)
Wk3:MESA
Equationsofstate,distribution
functions,idealanddegenerategases,
Wk4:Monte
composition,polytropemodels
Carlomethods
Stellarenergygeneration,
HW2(TBD)
nucleosynthesis,reactionrates,pp&
Wk5:LaTeX
CNOchains,triplealpharxn
Wk6:Literature
Stellaratmospheres,opacity,radiative
Research
transfer,lineprofiles,spectroscopy
spectralclassification
HW3(TBD)
TheSun:helioseismology,neutrino
Wk7:Data
problem,solarflares&
Visualization
magnetosphere
Wk8:Scientific
Low&high-massstars:hydrogenWriting
burninglimit,eddingtonlimit,
multiplicity,rotation
HW4(TBD)
Stellarevolution,pulsation,stellar
Wk10:Effective
death,supernovae,degenerate
Presentations
remnants
Projectpresentations
CourseInformation
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Physics223Spring2016
CourseInformation
COURSEINFORMATION
Physics223isagraduate-levelastrophysicscourseonstellarinteriorsand
structure.Thegoalofthecoarseistofamiliarizeyouwiththephysical
processesandequationsunderlyingtheformation,structure,energy
generationandevolutionofnormalstars.Thetopicswewilldiscuss
include:
1. Fundamentalpropertiesofstarsandcosmologicalcontext;
2.Star&planetformation
3. Equationsofstellarstructure&polytropemodels;
4. Propertiesofgas,plasma,degenerateand“photonic”states;
5. Energygenerationandnucleosynthesis;
6. Energytransportviaradiation,conductionandconvection;
7. Pre-MainSequence,MainSequenceandPost-MainSequence
evolution
8. Degeneratestars(browndwarfs,whitedwarfs,neutronstars)
Dependingontime,wewillalsotouchon
9. TheSunasastar;
10. Binarystarsystems;
11. Stellarkinematics;
12. Stellarmagneticactivity.
Inaddition,thiscourseaimstoprovidetraininginpracticalskills
importantforsuccessingraduatestudyandastrophysicalresearchin
general.Assignmentswillthereforeincludecomputationalproblems
(Pythonrecommendedbutnotrequired),useofcommunitysoftware
suchasastropyandMESA,literatureresearch,writtenassignmentsusing
LaTeX,andoralpresentations.Allstudentswillbeexpectedtopresent
atleastonejournalarticlereviewinclass.Anoptionalweeklyworkshop
sessionwillbescheduledtoprovidetraininginthesecoreskills.
Prerequisites:graduatestandingorPhysics160(exceptionswillbe
considered).Youshouldalsobefamiliarwithandbeabletousebasic
computationaltechniques(e.g.,numericalintegration)andknowatleast
oneprogramminglanguages(Fortran,C,Python,IDL),whichwillbeused
forthehomeworkassignmentsandpossiblyyourprojects.
ASSIGNMENTSANDGRADING
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Physics223Spring2016
CourseInformation
NOTE:Gradebreakdownswillbedeterminedbyconsensusduringour
firstclassmeeting.
Homeworkconstitutes30%ofyourgrade.Therewillbe4homework
assignmentsworth7.5%each.Assignmentswillbepostedonthecourse
webpage.Problemswillincludeamixofanalyticalandnumerical
problems.AssignmentswillbedueonFridayat5pmofevenweeks(2,4,
6,8).Lateassignmentswillbeacceptedbutgradedeductionsareas
follows:
• -3businessdaysEARLY:+10%bonus
• Ontime:fullcredit
• +1businessday:-25%deduction
• +3businessdays:-50%deduction
• +1week:-75%deduction
• Morethan1weeklate:nocredit
Youareencouragedtoworktogetheronhomework,buttheworkyou
handinmustbeyourown.Youmaynotuseaprioryear’ssolutions,
onlinesolutionorsolutionsfromthetextbooks.Anyonesuspectedof
copyingsolutionsisinviolationofUCSD’sintegritypolicy,willreceivea
failinggrade,andwillbereferredtotheOfficeofAcademicIntegrity.
Leadingdiscussionofapaperduringlectureconstitutes10%ofyour
grade.Readingswillbedrawnfromprimarysourcesandreviewpapers,
andwilldrivepartoftheclassdiscussion.Toencouragedevelopmentof
yourskillsinusingprimarysources,eachstudentwillleadonediscussion
duringthequarter.Thiswillinclude:(1)preparingabrief(5-min)
summaryofthepaper’ssalientpointsand(2)leadinga10-mindiscussion
withtheclass,withsupportingbackground.Seethewebsiteforthe
discussionrubric.
Thetermprojectconstitutes50%ofyourgrade.Theprojectcanbeon
anytopicclearlyrelevanttothecourse,withpreferenceforaspecific
resultfromatleastoneprimarysource,ratherthanageneralreview.I
willhaveasetofrecentprimaryreferencestochoosefrom,oryoumay
chooseyourownprimaryreference.
Acompletedprojectconsistsof3parts:
1. Aproposal(10%)describingtheprojecttopic,andoutlineofthe
paperandalistofreferences,whichwillbedueattheendofWeek
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Physics223Spring2016
CourseInformation
5(Friday,October28th).Theproposalmustbepreparedusing
LaTeXwiththeprovidedstylefile.
2.Aprojectpaper(25%)10-15pages,includingfiguresandreferences,
dueattheendofWeek10(FridayDecember2nd).Thepapermust
bepreparedusingLaTeXwiththeAAStexstylefile
3. A10-minutepresentation(15%)madeduringFinalsWeek.
Termprojectsmustbedoneonyourown.Plagiarismruleswillbestrictly
enforced.Copyinganyportionofyourpaperorpresentationfrom
anyoneoranysourceisnotallowed,withtheexceptionofshortpassages
thatshouldbeexplicitlyquotedandproperlyattributed.
Participationwillbeassessedbytheinstructorbasedonparticipationin
classdiscussions.
Hereisaroughbreakdownoflettergrades(plusandminusgradeswill
beawardedwithintheseranges).Rememberthata“pass”gradefor
graduatecoursesrequiresaCorbetter.
LetterGrade
A
B
C
F
%Required
≥85
70-85
55-70
<55
GradeappealsareallowedbutmustbeemailedtoProf.Burgasser
withinoneweekofreceivingthatassignment’sgrade.
Schedulingconflictsduetoathletic/artisticperformanceorresearch
events(talks,meetings,etc.)mustbereportedatleastoneweekin
advance.Homeworkandprojectsmustbeturnedinbeforetheconflict.
Medicalexcusesmustbeaccompaniedbyaphysician’snote.
ADDITIONALCOURSEDETAILS
Add/Drop:
UseWebRegtoadd/change/drop,dropfromwaitlists.Ifyouhaveany
problemsusingWebReg,contactSharmilaPoddar
(spoddar@physics.ucsd.edu)in2561MayerHallAnnex.
EquityandInclusion: UCSanDiegoconsidersthediversityofitsstudents,faculty,andstaffto
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Physics223Spring2016
CourseInformation
beastrength,andcriticaltoitseducationalmission.Itexpectsevery
memberoftheuniversitycommunitytocontributetoaninclusiveand
respectfulcultureforallinitsclassrooms,workenvironments,andat
campusevents.Dimensionsofdiversitycanincludesex,race,age,
nationalorigin,ethnicity,genderidentityandexpression,intellectualand
physicalability,sexualorientation,income,faithandnon-faith
perspectives,socio-economicclass,politicalideology,education,primary
language,familystatus,militaryexperience,cognitivestyle,and
communicationstyle.Theindividualintersectionofthesebackgrounds
andcharacteristicsareandmustbevaluedinourcommunity.
TitleIXprohibitssexdiscrimination,includingsexualmisconduct,sexual
violence,sexualharassment,andretaliation.Ifyouorsomeoneyou
knowhasbeenharassedorassaulted,youcanfindresourcesavailableto
supportthevictim,includingconfidentialresources,advocacy,and
informationconcerningreportingoptions,attheSexualAssault
ResourceCenter(https://students.ucsd.edu/sponsor/sarc/)
Ifthereareaspectsofthedesign,instruction,and/orexperienceswithin
thiscoursethatcreatebarrierstoyourinclusioninthecourseor
accurateassessmentofyourachievement,pleasenotifymeassoonas
possiblesothatwemayremedythese.
Disabilities: TheUCSDOfficeforStudentswithDisabilities(OSD)isavailabletowork
withstudentswithdisabilitiestofacilitateaccommodationsdueto
disabilities.Theseincludeadaptivesoftwareandtechnologies,
captioningandinterpreters,ASandpeernotetakersandexam
modifications.Studentsrequestingtheseservicesmustobtainand
submitanAuthorizationforAccommodation(AFA)lettertothe
instructornoearlierthan3workingdayspriortoreceiving
accommodations.Formoreinformation,seetheOSDwebsite
(http://disabilities.ucsd.edu).Iwillalsoconsideraccommodations
withoutformalOSDapproval,onacase-by-casebasis.Pleasedonot
hesitatetoaskifyoufeelyouneedaccommodation.
AcademicIntegrity: Pleaseread“UCPolicyonIntegrityofScholarship”intheUCSDGeneral
Catalog.Anystudentscaughtcheatingorplagiarizingwillbereportedto
theOfficeofAcademicIntegrityandmaybeexpelledfromthecourse.
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