ASTR 596/496 NPA: Spring 2025

Course Schedule

Lecture material may vary, but due dates are fixed. Visit this page for updates.

The webpages for all class meetings will be stored here; each page includes the lecture notes for that class. You are encouraged to come here to review the topics covered, the images shown, and to follow the links to further information.

Date Topic Assignment Due
Wed Jan 22 Introduction
Fri Jan 24 Preliminaries: Solar System Abundances
Mon Jan 27 Preliminaries: Nuclear Physics Overview
Wed Jan 29 Preliminaries: Nuclear Masses and Shell Model
Fri Jan 31 Preliminaries: Nuclear Decays and Cosmic Radioactivity Preflight 1
Mon Feb 3 Perliminaries: Nuclear Reactions
Wed Feb 5 Preliminaries: Particle Physics Overview
Fri Feb 7 Cross Sections Problem Set 1
Mon Feb 10 Thermonuclear Reaction Rates
Wed Feb 12 Cosmology: Cosmological Principle
Fri Feb 14 Cosmology: Kinematics and Exansion Preflight 2
Mon Feb 17 Cosmology: Cosmodynamics
Wed Feb 19 Cosmology: the Microwave Background
Fri Feb 21 Particle Physics I Problem Set 2
Mon Feb 24 Particle Physics I
Wed Feb 26 The Early Universe: Statistical Mechanics
Fri Feb 28 Primordial Nucleosynthesis: Cosmic Context and Initial Conditions Preflight 3
Mon Mar 3 Primordial Nucleosynthesis: Weak Freezeout and Element Production
Wed Mar 5 Primordial Nucleosynthesis: Observations
Fri Mar 7 Primordial Nucleosynthesis: Concordance and Implications Problem Set 3
Mon Mar 10 The Early Universe: Nonbaryonic Dark Matter
Wed Mar 12 The Early Universe: Dark Matter Searches and Outlook
Fri Mar 14 Early Universe: Dark Matter and the WIMP Miracle Preflight 4
Mar 17 - 21 No Class Meeting--Spring Break
Mon Mar 24 Early Universe: WIMPs Searches and Dark Matter Outlook
Wed Mar 26 Early Universe: Baryogenesis
Fri Mar 28 Solar Neutrinos: Structure of the Sun Problem Set 4
Mon Mar 31 Solar Neutrinos: Expectations and Observations
Wed Apr 2 Solar Neutrinos: Neutrino Oscillations
Fri Apr 4 Solar Neutrinos: Neutrino Oscillations Preflight 5
Mon Apr 7 Supernovae: Core Collapse and Neutrinos
Wed Apr 9 Supernovae: Explosion, Neutrinos, and SN1987A
Fri Apr 11 Gamma-Ray Bursts: Discovery and Great Debate Problem Set 5
Mon Apr 14 Gamma-Ray Bursts: Afterglows and Populations
Wed Apr 16 Gamma-Ray Bursts: GW170817 and Kilonovae
Fri Apr 18 Beyond the Iron Peak: s-Process Preflight 6
Mon Apr 21 Beyond the Iron Peak: r-Process Physics
Wed Apr 23 Kilonovae and r-process
Fri Apr 25 No Class Meeting--Astrofest
Mon Apr 28 Beyond the Iron Peak: s-Process Problem Set 6
Wed Apr 30 Beyond the Iron Peak: r-Process
Fri May 2 Gamma-Ray Bursts
Mon May 5 Kilonovae Problem Set 7
Wed May 7 Galactic Chemical Evolution Final Problem Set Assigned
Thu May 8 Bonus Lecture: Cosmic Rays
Thu May 15 Final Problem Set Due 4:30pm