Astrophysics

Newton's laws and inertial frames. Rotating coordinate systems and Coriolis forces. Newton's law of gravitation and Kepler's laws. Mass distributions, gravitational potential, and potential energy. Virial theorem, gravitational collapse, and formation of stars. Special relativity. Doppler shift. General relativity and black holes. Relative and absolute magnitude of stars. Binary stars. Planck's law of radiation and Wien's displacement law. Stellar spectra. Nuclear processes in the core of stars. White dwarfs and neutron stars. Cosmology and the Big Bang.

The student will get an overview of the formation of stars, the nuclear processes in the core of stars, and their death. Likewise, the student will acquire an overview of extragalactic astrophysics, cosmology, and the Big Bang.

Lectures and problem sessions. Expected workload in the course is 225 hours.