ASTR 6000 -- Astrophysics Seminar (Supernovae)

INSTRUCTORS:  Michael Shull and Emily Levesque

TIME AND PLACE: Thursday 4:00 - 5:00 pm, DUANE E-126. You can check the list below for the schedule of topics and assigned discussion leaders.  

COURSE HOME PAGE:  http://casa.colorado.edu/~mshull/supernova/  

GOALS OF THIS COURSE: This seminar is intended primarily for APS and Physics graduate students, and is tied to one of the graduate Astrophysics courses this term: ASTR 5710 (High-Energy Astrophysics). The seminar provides an opportunity for graduate students to explore one area of current research in depth, by reading and discussing review articles and research papers.

READINGS:   In this seminar, we will read and discuss classical and current research papers on the subject of "Supernovae". For those of you who wish to read about Supernovae and Supernova Remnants (SNRs) in more detail, here are several Review Papers on Supernovae and Supernova remnants, followed by useful links to general background on SNe and SNRs (written for the public)

  • Optical Spectra of Supernovae (Filippenko 1997) ARAA, 47, 309-355

  • The Physics of Core-Collapse Supernovae (Woosley & Janka 2005) Nature Physics, 1, 147-154

  • Nucleosynthesis and Remnants in Massive Stars of Solar Metallicity (Woosley & Heger 2007) Physics Reports, 442, 269-283

  • Supernovae and Supernova Remnants (Chandra X-Ray Observatory)

  • Supernovae (classification and light curves)

    SUPERNOVAE AND COSMOLOGY:   Below are more technical links on supernovae and their use for cosmology:

  • Supernova Cosmology Project (at Lawrence Berkeley Lab),

  • Supernova Dark Energy Site (with Hubble Space Telescope),

    PREREQUISITES: Undergraduate degree in Physics (especially classical mechanics, modern physics, statistical and thermal physics, electromagnetic theory) or permission of the instructor  

    MATHEMATICAL SKILLS REQUIRED:  Math and physical concepts, needed in class discussions of astrophysical gas dynamics, thermodynamics, radiation spectra, and nuclear reaction networks.