PHYSICS 233: Interstellar Medium

Spring 2003

The Lagoon Nebula, M8, as imaged by WFPC2 of the Hubble Space Telescope

This course covers the basic physical processes that regulate the state of diffuse gas in (and around) galaxies. Topics covered include -- Phases of the ISM; Ionization and Thermal Equilibrium of Gaseous Nebulae; Absorption Line Studies; Spectral Line Formation; Properties of Grains and Extinction; Molecular Gas and Star Formation; Supernova Explosions and Hydrodynamic Shocks. The goal is to develop the background required to understand current research on the interplay between star formation and cosmic gas.


SYLLABUS

 

LECTURE: Tu Th 2:00 - 3:15 SNDCR 1653

LECTURE NOTES

LECTURE SCHEDULE

ORAL PRESENTATION #1

HOMEWORK HINTS

STUDENT FEEDBACK

OFFICE HOURS

Prof. Crystal Martin MW 2:30 - 3:30 Broida 5133 893-8760

cmartin@physics.ucsb.edu

TA: Mr. Tony Piro W 11:00 - 12:30 Physics Study Center   piro@physics.ucsb.edu

Web page: http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~phys233/spring2003

General Texts:
*Physical Processes in the ISM, by Spitzer
**Astrophysics of Gaseous Nebulae by Osterbrock
Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure I-III, by Herzberg
Radiative Processes in Astrophysics, by Rybicki & Lightman
Astrophysics of the Diffuse Universe, by Dopita, Sutherland & Schweiger


Review Articles:
Interstellar Processes, 1987, eds Hollenbach & Thronson (Kluwer, Dordrecht)
The Evolution of the Interstellar Medium, 1990, ed Blitz (ASP Conference Series Vol. 12)
The Physics of the Interstellar Medium and Intergalactic Medium, 1995, eds Ferrara et al. (ASP Conference Series 80) \hfill}
Molecules in Astrophysics: Probes and Processes, 1997, IAU Symposium 178, ed. van Dishoeck (Kluwer, Dordrecht) \hfill}

Grading:
Homeworks 40%
Class Presentations 30%
Final Exam 30%

Policies:
Attend class, participate in discussions, and do the homework.

Units in Astronomy:
Astrophysical Formulae by Lang
Allen's Astrophysical Quantities ed. Cox
1 pc = 3.0856 x 1018 cm
mAB = -2.5 log f_ \nu - 48.60
1 M_ {\odot} = 1.989 x 1033 g
1 L_{\odot} = 3.826 x 1033 erg/s


Useful Astro Surf Sites:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/a Get Papers Here!
http://adsabs.harvard.edu Get Papers Here!
http://xxx.lanl.gov/archive/astro-ph Get Preprints Here!
http://physics.nist.gov Atomic Data
http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~seminars/astro/l UCSB Astro Talks
http://www.stsci.edu/resources/ Hubble Space Telescope
http://chandra.harvard.edu/ Chandra X-Ray Observatory
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/mirror/keck/ Keck Observatory

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